Transcript Highlights:

• with us and about us relates to engaging with us and about us online. online. online.
• of</c> this is a better use, better land use of this is a better use, better land use of that.<05:44
• Our constitution doesn't even allow us to determine that the use of a property is a good public use.
• Our constitution doesn't even allow us to determine that the use of a property is a good public use.
• Our constitution doesn't even allow us to determine that the use of a property is a good public use.

Transcript Highlights:

• Tom Horn used to use a Winchester. A lot of famous cowboys used the Winchester Model 94.
• And it was used by the U.S.
• I do have wanted to start us off.
• In a residential use, it's 3% on each side. I'm sure it's similar in commercial use.
• We've used this model.

Committee: Senate State Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• It's truly been a year of accomplishment for us.
• That's very important to us.
• Quality is so important for us. Our employees are clearly the most important for us.
• We use the term in ITD, invest with purpose.
• So thank you for supporting us and for your trust in us, and I'll stand, Mr.

Committee: Senate Transportation

Transcript Highlights:

• Deny what it's being used for.
• And if the company decides the bond shouldn't be used, the bond should be used.
• We use it where I'm at.
• And it gives us an idea.
• There's no recourse for us to...

Bills: HB206 , HB 1285 , HB1335 , HJR107 , HB206

Committee: House Energy Resources

Transcript Highlights:

• various certified uses.
• We undertook, we hired a professional to help us with the requirements gathering, to help us draft the
• For us.
• Steven Scott is with us here today.
• Paying attention to us today, I want to let you know that this is just part of the start of us putting

Transcript Highlights:

• Thank you again for having us.
• So we use several different mechanisms.
• So the fees are used as the state share.
• That's not going to be enough for us.
• It may take us in the hospital world another two or three weeks to get paid what they told us they would

Committee: All ALC-HOSPITAL, MEDICAID, & DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES STUDY SUBCOMMITTEE

Summary: The subcommittee met to review Arkansas DHS hospital spending and reimbursement methods, with Secretary Janet Mann and Deputy Secretary Misty Eubanks explaining Medicaid hospital payments. They described fee-for-service per diem payments, cost settlements, and the upper payment limit (UPL) program, noting that SFY 2025 hospital payments included $688 million in inpatient/outpatient claims, $473 million in UPL payments, $248 million in cost settlements, and about $47 million in other payments such as graduate medical education and disproportionate share hospital funds. Members asked about why per diem rates vary, how cost settlements work, why UPL applies mainly to private hospitals, and how assessment fees are structured and funded. DHS said the hospital assessment fee is broad-based and uniform, used as the state share to draw federal funds, and that supplemental hospital payments after federal match totaled $548 million with no general revenue used. The Arkansas Hospital Association’s Jody Ann Tritt then gave a broader overview of the hospital landscape, explaining the different hospital types in the state, including critical access hospitals, rural emergency hospitals, PPS hospitals, and specialty hospitals. She said Arkansas hospitals face financial strain, citing a negative 5.18% patient service margin statewide and lower reimbursement than surrounding states. She argued that Arkansas hospitals are paid less than hospitals in neighboring states for similar services, that commercial payer rates and administrative burdens are a major problem, and that Medicaid and Medicare rates remain below cost even with UPL support. She also said hospitals are the backbone of community care, provide emergency and public health functions, and are looking for ways to invest in technology and telehealth but often lack the revenue to do so. Members pressed for clearer data on hospital finances, reimbursement adequacy, and the impact of commercial insurers. Tritt said the association had just authorized a statewide survey to gather updated financial information from hospitals, which she said would take about a year to complete. She also explained that Medicaid pays weekly, Medicare and commercial plans can involve delays and denials, and that hospitals often spend significant resources on revenue cycle work. The discussion ended with a brief update on assisted living reimbursement: DHS said one facility, The Pillars of the Community in Crossett, had announced closure, nine Living Choices waiver clients were being transitioned, and the updated rate study would be available after cost reports are collected, likely before the end of the fiscal year. The meeting then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• So they I have invited AI Lab, which is the company that performed this analysis for us to walk us through
• Gentlemen, if you'll come up to the podium to join us, I believe Mr. Letter unit kick us off here.
• The Proviso directed us to evaluate electronic visit verification EV solution currently used by AHCA,
• I think the reality comes the uses specific uses and different stakeholders.
• We will use a process that we use now, which is our change control long.

Transcript Highlights:

• Are they overcharging us? Are they undercharging us? Do they owe us a check at the end of the day?
• Let us show you how to fix it.
• Is the company overcharging us? Are they charging us for something we don't have?
• Are they charging us for overcharging? Are they charging us for undercharging?
• Nobody was there to know how to use them, so it's not going to be used.

Committee: House Public School Capital Outlay Oversight Task Force

Transcript Highlights:

• You can help us move things along a little bit.
• We will use the tools at our disposal.
• I've asked some individuals who work with that issue to, uh, be here today with us to present with us
• Um, uh, also, in some of the kits, there was not evidence on them for us to, to use to identify a potential
• I think that this is serious enough for us to take on when we do have them before us, as we always do

Committee: House Courts, Corrections & Justice Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• So I think there's an incumbency upon us and responsibilities on us as legislators to understand that
• , but it's going to allow us and... ...a system for the agencies and entities to use, but it's going
• It's truly all of us coming together as one Louisiana to really bring us to where we've come so far.
• It comes directly to us.
• So we have used that in the past.

Summary: The committee met for an informational hearing focused largely on the state capital outlay process and House Bill 2. Roger Husser and Matt Baker of the Division of Administration/Facility Planning and Control described how the office prepares and administers the capital outlay bill, said the bill has grown substantially over five years, and argued that recent changes in culture, staffing, project management, cash-flow analysis, and use of third-party support have more than doubled project expenditures and improved delivery. Members asked about the use and cost of third-party project managers, delegation of smaller projects to agencies, hiring difficulties, and whether the changes represented better interpretation of existing law versus statutory changes. Husser said some statutes were amended, some internal customs were removed, and the office would provide a list of those changes. He also explained that the office is trying to move away from overly rigid practices and toward faster project completion while still following public-bid and oversight rules. A major portion of the discussion centered on the size and structure of the capital outlay bill, especially the gap between Priority 1 cash capacity and the much larger Priority 5 backlog. Husser said the current annual Priority 1 limit is tied to construction inflation and is about $574 million, with additional surplus funds also available, but that the bill contains far more Priority 5 funding than can realistically move in a five-year plan. He and members discussed dormant projects, scope creep, legacy projects that have sat in the bill for years, and the problem of false expectations for non-state entities. Proposed solutions included limiting Priority 5 to five times Priority 1, requiring annual re-endorsement by members, setting district or project caps for non-state projects, requiring time limits and reporting for grant-like non-state projects, placing matches in escrow, requiring design readiness before submission, and consolidating the many existing reporting requirements into one clearer report. Members also discussed bundling multiple projects under one agency project, which the House had begun piloting for LSU, UL Lafayette, Southern, and DOTD, and which Husser said could improve flexibility, reduce overappropriation, and better reflect actual spending. Baker then explained cash-flow management and the commitment process, saying FPC now analyzes projects annually to estimate what can actually be spent in the next fiscal year and uses commitments to allow projects to proceed when future-year funding is expected. He said overappropriations can result from poor cash-flow estimates, delays, dormant projects, or projects coming in under budget, and that the office is already reworking cash-flow assumptions and reappropriating savings where possible. Members also raised concerns about change orders and low bids; staff said project managers review change orders closely, require concurrence on non-state projects, and sometimes reduce scope to keep projects within budget. After FPC’s presentation, the committee heard the beginning of Louisiana Economic Development’s capital outlay discussion, where LED explained that its projects generally fall into three categories, including the Economic Development Awards Program and Site Readiness Program, both used to support targeted economic development and job creation.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:16:00.279><c> people's</c><00:16:00.639><c> use</c> gaining lot from just using people's use
• , that's being used.
• , that's being used.
• , that's being used.
• used cooking excuse me using imported used cooking oil<01:14:45.840><c> uh</c><01:14:46.080><c> overall

Committee: Senate Taxes

Transcript Highlights:

• The Department of Health has volunteered to help facilitate and guide that effort for us or with us,
• And are you able to stay with us?
• Would you like to kick us off here? Actually, I'm going to allow Jeff to kick us off.
• Would you like to kick us off here? Actually, I'm going to allow Jeff to kick us off.
• That should be something we keep in front of us, all of us, as we work on our health policy issues.

Summary: The Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee met on July 30, 2026, to hear two main briefings. The first, from the Health Care Authority, focused on implementation of federal H.R. 1 Medicaid changes and Washington’s rural health transformation funding. HCA said the state is preparing for major eligibility changes, including the October 1 loss of Medicaid coverage for about 14,000 lawfully present non-citizens and January 1, 2027 work requirements, six-month renewals, and reduced retroactive coverage for roughly 600,000 Medicaid expansion adults. Officials described outreach efforts, new automated verification systems, a verification hub, and plans to use available data sources to reduce manual paperwork, while noting that about one-third of the affected population may still need manual processing. They also said H.R. 1 will limit state-directed payments over time, with an estimated long-term impact of up to $1.5 billion in hospital reimbursements. On rural health transformation, HCA said it is moving quickly to obligate its $181 million federal award through contracts and competitive grants for rural hospitals, workforce, behavioral health, technology, and tribal and community partners. Committee members asked about the impact on rural providers, community service as a work-requirement pathway, emergency Medicaid, tribal and federal reimbursement issues, and whether the state would submit comments on the federal work-requirement rule. HCA said it would file comments, that emergency Medicaid coverage for certain services remains available, and that it is working with tribes and other agencies to avoid erroneous terminations and to move eligible people into other coverage where possible. Members also raised concerns about the administrative burden on families and providers and the need for congressional attention on issues such as TRICARE reimbursement. The second briefing addressed maternal health and the Department of Health’s Maternal Mortality Review Panel report. DOH said maternal mortality in Washington increased for the first time in the report series, but most pregnancy-related deaths remain preventable. Nearly half were linked to behavioral health conditions, especially overdose deaths, with suicide, cardiovascular disease, and COVID-19 also significant causes; most deaths occurred postpartum rather than during delivery. The report found higher mortality rates among American Indian and Alaska Native, Black, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, multiracial, rural, and Medicaid-covered populations, and identified lack of access to care, financial hardship, housing instability, discrimination, bias, and systemic inequities as major contributors. DOH highlighted existing state actions such as one-year postpartum coverage, doula reimbursement, inpatient substance use treatment coverage for birthing people, and vaccine coverage requirements, and offered 12 legislative recommendations focused on affordable and high-quality care, basic needs and community supports, and equitable, culturally responsive services. Presenters from the Suquamish Tribe and Kitsap OBGYN described how the tribe acquired and stabilized a threatened OB-GYN practice to preserve regional access amid provider shortages and hospital service losses. They said rural obstetric care is difficult to sustain because of thin margins, workforce shortages, long travel distances, and higher-risk patients, and emphasized that tribal health systems can offer stronger reimbursement and integrated family-centered care. The Foundation for Healthcare Quality and the Bree Collaborative then outlined statewide maternity-care quality efforts, including work on perinatal behavioral health, care coordination, postpartum screening, doula support, and better-aligned payment models. They said Washington has strengths in innovation but still needs more OB-GYN capacity, better transitions of care, and more culturally responsive, trauma-informed maternal and Native health services.

Transcript Highlights:

• Representative Osman Salhaudin has joined us right now.
• It's not always immediately clear whether a death resulted from a use of deadly force or use of force
• Seeing none, thank you so much for being here with us.
• They were pedestrians using spaces meant to keep them safe.
• a 3D printer or CNC milling machine for personal use.

Bills: HB2543

Committee: Senate Law & Justice

Keywords: county clerk, fees, local government, administrative costs, revenue generation

Transcript Highlights:

• If grant funding was used, we made sure that the funding was used...
• If grant funding was used, we made sure that the funding was in alignment with approvable uses, as well
• We do get a report that shows us the denials, but helping us to take a different look at it.
• So you want us to confirm you without telling us the decision-making process or what you actually did
• Thank you, Commissioner, for being with us. Thank you, Commissioner, for being with us.

Committee: Senate Ethics and Elections

Transcript Highlights:

• Actually, let me use this as a chance to recognize Senator Moore and Senator Driscoll for joining us.
• You cannot use that, or should not use that, for operating.
• It is there to be used. It has to be used when it rains. It's not there to sit there.
• It's there to be used. I'll come back to SNAP because I think we should have used it at that point.
• It is there to be used. It has to be used when it rains. It's not there to sit there.

Committee: Senate Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• That case came to us after the Crow Wing County attorney asked us to, and we have two great prosecutors
• You know, Medicaid fraud—a change to us is going to affect all 53 of us.
• or show us how to find it.
• because it's really, really useful to us.
• Attorney Lugar, talked to us.

Bills: HF3043 , HF2891

Committee: House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• Yesterday was a great day for us.
• That is a factor for us as well.
• So I believe that's what's driving us and keeps us the number one system in the country.
• If you look at how most states fund higher education, they're using the same model they used when they
• I mean, some of us are bordering states, and some of us aren't.

Committee: Senate Appropriations Committee on Higher Education

Summary: The committee held an informational hearing on higher education funding, focusing on how Florida’s university system should be financed and whether a new funding model is needed. University system financial officers and Chancellor Ray Rodriguez discussed major cost drivers, including wages and benefits, utilities, maintenance, financial aid, research, and the effects of geography, institutional mission, and student mix. UF highlighted the cost of research and graduate programs; UCF and FAU pointed to growth, location, and cost of living; FAMU emphasized recruiting top-tier talent while relying on other revenue sources; and UNF noted the challenges of growth and long-term planning. Members also discussed the role of internal controls and audits in addressing excessive spending and questioned whether out-of-state tuition should be adjusted to help offset costs. On revenue sources beyond state appropriations and tuition, the panel described auxiliaries, restricted funds, capital projects, and component units such as foundations and health systems. Several universities noted that some revenues are restricted to specific purposes and cannot be used for general operations. FAMU explained that a large share of its capital project funding reflected active campus construction, while UF said its component-unit revenue is largely tied to UF Health. The Chancellor emphasized that the system’s low tuition and strong state support are central to Florida’s national standing, but also noted that some auxiliary revenues are pledged to debt and must be managed carefully. When discussing the current funding process, witnesses praised Florida’s performance-based funding model for aligning incentives with student success, transparency, and accountability. They also raised concerns about non-recurring appropriations, rising employee benefit costs, unfunded mandates, deferred maintenance, and the difficulty of multi-year planning. Suggestions for improvement included more recurring funding, better coverage of mandated costs, greater flexibility in fee-setting, and possible weighting for mission, geography, and institutional type. The Chancellor said the Board of Governors is considering a “version 3.0” of performance-based funding that would benchmark institutions against peers and Carnegie classifications, but any changes would require legislative action. On out-of-state tuition, most universities said they would prefer local board flexibility, while the Chancellor cautioned that increasing out-of-state enrollment or fees could affect future state support and should be balanced carefully.

Transcript Highlights:

• But it gives us a good idea.
• I'm not going to use the clicker.
• use of the money—what benefited them, what benefited us.
• And perhaps new ways of using or authorizing the ability to use line funding.
• We use our faculty, we use our administrative staff, our leaders—it's all in.

Committee: Senate Appropriations Committee on Higher Education

Summary: The Appropriations Committee on Higher Education met to focus on nursing education funding, workforce supply, and Florida’s low NCLEX pass rates. The chair emphasized that Florida ranks last nationally in nursing exam pass rates and said the committee wants to use budget decisions and a forthcoming nursing bill to improve outcomes. The Florida Center for Nursing at USF presented preliminary workforce and education data showing RN supply is moving toward equilibrium with demand through 2037, while LPN shortages are projected to worsen, especially in some regions. The center also reported on enrollment, retention, faculty vacancies, and NCLEX trends, noting Florida still underperforms the national average but has shown some recent improvement, including higher RN pass rates in 2024 despite fewer test takers. The center highlighted that students who test sooner after graduation tend to pass at higher rates. A panel of nursing education leaders from public universities, state colleges, technical colleges, and private institutions described how prior state pipeline and line-item funding helped expand enrollment, simulation labs, faculty hiring, student support services, and partnerships with hospitals. UNF, Galen College, College of Central Florida, Keiser University, and Lorenzo Walker Technical College each reported strategies such as expanded simulation, mental health and social work support, test-prep and remediation, and efforts to grow faculty pipelines. Several speakers said faculty recruitment and retention remain major barriers because of salary competition with hospitals, faculty debt, and aging faculty. Technical college representatives also stressed the need to strengthen LPN pathways, English-language support, and LPN-to-RN bridge programs. Members asked for ideas to improve NCLEX outcomes and discussed possible policy options, including student loan forgiveness, critical shortage supplements for faculty, incentives for students to test soon after graduation, and possible changes to timing or regulation around NCLEX eligibility. Several witnesses supported more flexible or recurring funding, while noting that one-time line funding has been useful for simulation, scholarships, and faculty support but is harder to sustain. The committee adjourned after the discussion, with the chair saying the ideas would be considered in future funding and policy decisions.

Transcript Highlights:

• drop-in fuels that can be used in existing engines, such as... ...drop-in fuels that can be used in
• Basically, they have a hydrogen transit bus, and they are using it to learn about using hydrogen in their
• And you made the funds more flexible by allowing us to use them for grants as well, which is great.
• Thank you so much for being with us.
• I mean, is there anything to keep us from...

Summary: The Senate Transportation Committee held a work session on electric vehicles, renewable fuels, hydrogen, and related transportation investments, followed by public hearings on several bills. Agency presenters from WSDOT, Commerce, and Ecology described the Electric Vehicle Coordinating Council’s work, Washington’s slowing EV adoption growth, charging infrastructure gaps, and programs such as NEVI, ZEVIP, and a new medium- and heavy-duty incentive program. Members asked about fast-charging standards and whether higher-capacity chargers could be supported. Commerce also outlined renewable fuels and sustainable aviation fuel efforts, including the Office of Renewable Fuels, hydrogen and SAF modeling, technical assistance, and the Cascadia Sustainable Aviation Accelerator’s partnerships and funding. WSDOT then discussed hydrogen investments in transit, aviation, backup power, and corridor planning, while Ecology explained the alternative jet fuel programmatic environmental impact statement, its scope, timeline, and how it will support future project review. In the public hearing on Substitute House Bill 2114, the committee heard testimony supporting a no-fee replacement process for defective license plates within two years of issuance, with optional fee waivers later; the sponsor and county auditors said peeling or unreadable plates are a real customer-service problem, especially in eastern Washington. The hearing on House Bill 2111 concerned allowing the I-5 Bridge Replacement Project toll facility bond retirement account to keep its interest earnings instead of sending them to the general fund; the prime sponsor said it is a straightforward fix requested by the state treasurer. Substitute House Bill 1823 would update Transportation Improvement Board statutes by replacing “non-motorized” with “active transportation” and removing obsolete references; TIB said it is a cleanup bill that aligns statutes with current grant practices and complete streets policy. The committee also heard House Bill 2495, which would let the City of Seattle direct immediate impoundment of unattended vehicles blocking streetcar operations, similar to existing authority for Sound Transit. Seattle’s streetcar manager said blocked tracks cause frequent delays and that the bill would reduce waits for police authorization and restore service faster. Public testimony and sign-in counts were noted for each bill, but no votes were taken in the transcript, and the meeting concluded after the final public hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• That was really important to us.
• AI and just kind of talk to us a little in scams using AI and just kind of talk to us a little bit about
• going to collaborate with us and send us all of the instances in which they had identified potential
• We are limited by what Early Education and Care wants to refer to us and chooses to refer to us.
• us by that agency.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Ways and Means