Transcript Highlights:

• And obviously, the bill is focused on the homeless population.
• based on criteria... ...identify their homeless student population based on criteria, which I think
• So much like with the foster population, it happens to be a population where we know—maybe I don't as
• So it seems to me that we want to intercept that population as early as we can.
• As we know, California is home to a large population of immigrants and refugees, and part of our duty

Summary: The committee heard several higher education bills. It first approved the consent calendar, which included SB 67 and SB 619. The main discussion centered on SB 437, which would direct the CSU system to develop a fair, evidence-based process for verifying whether someone is a descendant of a person enslaved in the United States, as part of the state’s reparations work. Supporters said the bill fills a gap left by the Reparations Task Force and would create a transparent, credible lineage-verification process; opponents argued genealogy methods already exist, the bill would waste money and delay action, and some raised constitutional concerns. The committee took a vote on SB 437, but the roll was left open after the initial tally showed three ayes and three noes. The committee then heard SB 790, which would allow California to join the interstate reciprocity agreement for online postsecondary education. The author and supporters said the bill would improve consumer protections for California students taking out-of-state online courses and help California institutions compete more effectively by reducing the burden of seeking separate state approvals. Opponents, including University of Phoenix and other groups, argued the bill conflicted with the existing reciprocity framework, could exclude some institutions, and might not actually secure California’s entry into the agreement. The committee voted 3-1 to pass SB 790 as amended to the Business and Professions Committee, with the roll left open. The committee also heard SB 391, which would authorize the Community College Chancellor’s Office to charge fees for research partners seeking access to data. Supporters said the office is absorbing significant unfunded workload from data requests and that fees would help recover costs; opponents, including the California Teachers Association community college association, warned the fees could create barriers for faculty and smaller researchers. Members discussed possible exemptions and implementation details. The committee voted 5-1 to pass SB 391 as amended to the Appropriations Committee, with the roll left open. Finally, the committee heard SB 685, a pilot program to provide cost-of-attendance assistance at four CSU campuses for students who experienced homelessness in high school. Supporters said it would help students cover housing, food, and transportation costs and reduce dropout risk; members asked about eligibility and implementation, and the author explained the bill would use McKinney-Vento homelessness designations and target students at risk of “summer melt” and college homelessness.

Transcript Highlights:

• And in addition, we would limit landfills from being cited on class A land on populations with counties
• with population over 500,000.
• <02:47:22.160> over to counties with a population over to counties with a population over
• with counties with land on populations with counties with population<02:47:32.560> over<02:47
• Um we would be population over 500,000.

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Who provides services to some of these rural hospitals with vulnerable populations. and support.
• Despite being a process – that more than 50% of the population will go through if we live long enough
• AB432, menopause will directly affect half of the population, and women will live half of their lives
• , heart disease, mental health, or another major condition. affecting a large percentage of the population
• You know, our job is to see complicated patients, but every single person who takes care of this population

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• health care is something that is so important to our state. ...professionals to serve a diverse population
• If you look around here, Florida has a very diverse population.
• I just want you to know I oppose this bill because we are the third largest state in population.
• our ability to train the individuals to support those that are at risk, like suicide and our BIPC population
• This is a benefit to our state, and our state agencies should be able to respond to Florida's populations

Summary: The committee first confirmed Heather L. Turnbull to the Florida Commission on Community Service, with the motion adopted and the confirmation recommended favorably. Members then took up SPB 7022, which sets Florida Retirement System employer contribution rates beginning July 1, 2025, updates rates to address unfunded actuarial liability, and allows certain elected officers to elect a DROP accumulation; a technical title amendment was adopted, the bill was submitted as a committee bill, and it was reported favorably as a committee bill. The committee then heard extensive debate and public testimony on SB 1710, which would restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion-related policies, trainings, and activities in state agencies, state-funded contractors and grantees, and medical institutions of higher education. Sponsor Senator DiCeglie said the bill is intended to prevent state agencies and contractors from using state funds for DEI programs and to limit state agencies from adopting DEI-related official positions; he also said the medical-school portion would likely be amended out later. Senator Polsky and others questioned the bill’s breadth and how it would affect health-related grants, public universities, historically Black institutions, recruitment, and contractor training. Public testimony was overwhelmingly opposed, with speakers arguing the bill would harm health care, education, access, and inclusion; a few supporters said DEI is ideological, can undermine merit, and should not be used by state agencies or publicly funded institutions. After debate, Senator Polsky argued the bill was confusing, overbroad, and harmful to serving diverse communities, while Senator Arrington said it was an overreach into private business and could have significant fiscal impacts. Chair Fine closed by saying DEI is political ideology and that the bill is meant to ensure government focuses on talent rather than identity. SB 1710 was then reported favorably on a roll call vote, with Senator Arrington voting no and the remaining members voting yes. The committee then began SB 1678, relating to entities that boycott Israel, and heard the sponsor’s explanation of a delete-all amendment that would expand and clarify state restrictions on dealings with entities engaged in boycotts of Israel, including certain nonprofits, foreign educational institutions, and grants; the amendment was adopted, and the sponsor and a witness began answering questions when the transcript cuts off.

Transcript Highlights:

• So I think despite the challenge... ...of the state and of the population served during this time.
• So we've had a steadily increasing set of needs in our student population.
• We've had a steadily increasing set of needs in our student population.
• Despite the fact that the student population has greater needs than ever before, the scores improved
• One is that we have a very, very... high-need student population.

Summary: The committee heard presentations on the Governor’s education budget proposals for the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), Learning Recovery Block Grant, and Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP), followed by testimony from State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond. On LCFF, Finance outlined the proposed 2.43% COLA, repayment of prior deferrals, and a trailer bill penalty for LEAs that fail to adopt Local Control Accountability Plans on time. The LAO said its COLA estimate was slightly lower and raised concerns that the Governor’s proposed TK staffing ratio increase may be more costly than estimated. Members also discussed whether the current COLA formula should better reflect California-specific or district staffing costs, and whether TK should be more clearly separated from the K-3 grade span adjustment to avoid larger K-3 class sizes. The chair asked staff to work with the LAO on both the TK/K-3 issue and alternative COLA calculations. For the Learning Recovery Block Grant, Finance proposed restoring the first of three delayed payments, $378.6 million one-time Proposition 98 General Fund, while the LAO recommended adopting the proposal but extending the expenditure deadline by at least a year. The LAO reported that districts had spent $1.6 billion of the $6.8 billion received through 2023-24 and said most districts were only now shifting from federal COVID relief to block grant spending. Members questioned whether the large state and federal investments were improving outcomes, citing declining reading and math trends, while Finance and the State Board president pointed to some signs of improvement, especially in math, attendance, and gains for some student groups. Darling-Hammond emphasized that student needs have grown, that recovery spending has gone to devices, ventilation, staffing, tutoring, summer school, and community schools, and that targeted interventions appear to be helping some districts recover faster than others. On ELOP, Finance proposed adding $435 million to expand universal access by lowering the Tier 1 threshold from 75% to 55% unduplicated pupils, bringing ongoing funding to $4.4 billion. The LAO said the estimate was reasonable but recommended delaying implementation for a year, aligning ELOP with ASES to reduce overlap, moving toward funding based on participation rather than enrollment, and considering a fixed Tier 2 rate. Members and witnesses discussed staffing challenges, the use of funds for students with disabilities, and uncertainty in Tier 2 funding caused by unspent dollars and opt-outs. Darling-Hammond supported ELOP as part of California’s broader after-school and summer learning strategy, said most districts are now offering full-day TK and expanded learning, and urged the state to reduce fragmentation across categorical programs and build more unified systems for funding, reporting, and support.

Transcript Highlights:

• regulations need to be further revised so that all teachers know how to teach and include this population
• There also is a part of the bill that would expand the re-licensure to potentially include this population
• that they can really fully meet the needs of kids and not always be playing catch-up with this population
• It's how many teachers do you need for a given population of students, and then what should those teachers
• It's how many teachers do you need for a given population of students, and then what should those teachers

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Education held a public hearing on a large slate of bills, with most testimony focused on two main topics: improving access to augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) for students with disabilities, and raising educator pay statewide. On the AAC bills (House 514/Senate 418), parents, advocates, and attorneys described how AAC devices and communication books help nonverbal or minimally verbal children communicate, participate in class, and reduce frustration and behavioral issues. Testimony emphasized that while districts are generally required to provide devices, many teachers and school staff lack training to use them effectively; the bill would direct DESE to update licensure and training requirements so newly licensed teachers are prepared to support AAC users. Committee members asked about current teacher-prep practices, implementation, and whether DESE could act without legislation, and witnesses said the proposal was intended as a long-term solution and had previously received some support and compromise language. The committee also heard extensive testimony on House 733/Senate 370, which would set a statewide minimum salary of $70,000 for teachers and $55,000 for education support professionals (ESPs/paras), with inflation adjustments and a phase-in structure that would shift costs over time from the state to municipalities. Supporters, including the bill sponsor, MTA leaders, and school employees from several districts, argued that current pay is not a living wage, contributes to staffing shortages and turnover, and forces many educators to work multiple jobs or rely on public assistance. They said the bill would help recruit and retain staff and better reflect the importance of the work. Committee members raised questions about how the state would fund the mandate, how it would interact with Chapter 70 school aid and local budgets, whether other states have similar mechanisms, and whether the proposal could create disincentives for districts already paying above the floor. Witnesses pointed to the Student Opportunity Act, the Fair Share Amendment, and the need for a broader school funding formula review as possible parts of the solution. The committee also briefly heard and discussed Senate Bill 435/House Bill 736, which would require de-escalation training for school bus operators, with the training paid for by employers. The sponsor and a parent advocate said the bill was prompted by a school bus incident involving a child with cerebral palsy and epilepsy and would improve safety and reduce reliance on law enforcement. Members asked whether the bill should also cover bus monitors and other transportation staff, and whether private contractors and public operators currently provide similar training. At the end of the hearing, the chairs closed testimony on the full list of bills and adjourned the hearing without taking any votes.

Transcript Highlights:

• The herd immunity rate is the percentage of the population that must be immunized to prevent disease
• Why not one of our biggest populations of students that have... Why not?
• The Central Valley is home to large and growing student populations.
• We would be one of the top 25 states in general population if we just included that area.
• We would be one of the top 25 states in general population if we just included that area.

Summary: The Assembly Education Committee heard a lengthy agenda of education-related bills, with quorum established at the start and several measures taken up on consent or special order. The committee also announced that AB 1644, AB 2362, and later AB 2197 were pulled from the hearing. Members reminded the public of hearing rules and limited testimony to two witnesses each in support and opposition. AB 2651, by Assemblymember Bonta, would require schools to notify parents when school vaccination rates fall below herd-immunity thresholds. Supporters, including physicians, the California State PTA, public health groups, and school employee organizations, argued that families need timely, school-specific information to protect children and vulnerable community members. Opponents raised concerns about privacy, stigma, and whether school-level snapshots could be misleading. The bill passed the committee 5-1 and later 7-1 on the roll call. AB 2509, by Assemblymember Schultz, would allow districts to use a five-year rolling average for ADA funding calculations; supporters said it would stabilize funding amid attendance declines, while one member noted concerns about masking long-term enrollment problems. It passed 5-1 and later 7-2. The committee also approved AB 2430, which would expand after-school access, especially for high school students, improve funding and transparency, and create a work group on program quality. Testimony emphasized the value of expanded learning for youth development and working families, and members discussed the need to address middle school access as well. AB 2526, focused on special education funding, would expand the low-incidence fund to include students qualifying for the California alternate assessment; supporters said it would better align funding with student need, while some concerns remained about over-identification. AB 2325, the Pathways to Bilingual Teaching Act, would create a grant program to build bilingual teacher pipelines through partnerships among schools, community colleges, and universities; it received strong support and passed unanimously. AB 2460, presented by Assemblymember Pellerin for Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez, would update school mental-health referral protocols to address trauma related to immigration enforcement; it also passed unanimously. AB 2404, which sought to require Central Valley representation on several governor-appointed bodies, drew debate over geographic representation and board composition and ultimately failed on a 2-5 vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• That amount fluctuates based on the size of the population.
• As the population goes up in increments, the rate goes down—not the total rate, but the rate per offender
• As the population drops, the rate goes up per offender per day.
• It is our second-largest, third-largest site in terms of the offender population.
• incarcerated population and then the security level.

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Currently, incarcerated women, who represent just 8% of the prison population, are often subjected to
• These searches, developed for a predominantly male population, are not only ineffective at detecting
• Approximately one-third of the women's jail and prison population suffers from some form of depression
• We had in fiscal year 2023, we had 31 assaults among the client population at the Civil Commitment Center
• Simply put, ...units are far more expensive to operate than general population housing.

Bills: HB1826, HB1969, HB2708, HB2729, HB3618, HB4515, HB4764, SB1021, SB1610

Keywords: mental health, women's health, county jail, depression screening, criminal justice, inmate release, identification certificate, Texas Department of Corrections, personal identification, driver's license, state law, reentry services, nondisclosure, criminal history, criminal defendants, community supervision, misdemeanors, felonies, rehabilitation, hearsay

Summary: The Corrections Committee first took up pending business and reported several previously heard bills favorably to the full House, including HB 1515 and SB 2405, the TDCJ Sunset bill and its Senate companion, HB 5639 on the veteran housing program, HB 2854 on hospital visits as a parole or mandatory supervision condition and related hospital liability, and SB 1080 on occupational licenses for people with criminal convictions. The committee also heard and advanced SB 1080 without amendment, then moved into new business. A major portion of the meeting focused on HB 3618, which would limit invasive group strip searches of female inmates in TDCJ facilities. Formerly incarcerated women and advocates testified in support, describing humiliation, trauma, barriers to programming, and arguing that searches were often ineffective and that contraband more often comes from staff. TDCJ’s resource witness said the agency has looked at technology such as millimeter scanners and is in the process of placing them in facilities, while the bill sponsor said the measure would preserve searches in emergencies and require female officers when women are unclothed. HB 3618 was left pending. The committee also heard HB 4515 on expanding orders of nondisclosure, with the author saying the committee substitute would narrow the bill to marijuana possession only; supporters from Alliance for Safety and Justice and Right on Crime argued it would improve reentry and public safety, while members asked about eligibility and related offenses. HB 1826, requiring depression screenings for pregnant and postpartum incarcerated women, drew support from women’s health advocates and formerly incarcerated witnesses; the bill was left pending. HB 1969, to help people leaving prison renew or obtain driver’s licenses, and HB 2708, expanding nondisclosure eligibility for certain misdemeanor convictions, were also laid out and left pending. Later, the committee heard HB 2729, which would bar hearsay evidence in hearings on violations of release conditions, and SB 1021, which would make stalking convictions ineligible for community supervision and add related victim-protection provisions; both were left pending. SB 1610, addressing civil commitment facility safety, sex offender registration, and penalties for assaults on staff, drew strong opposition from civil commitment residents, family members, and civil rights advocates who argued it was punitive and raised due process concerns; the resource witness said assaults had increased and explained the civil commitment process and existing legal safeguards. Finally, HB 4764 would require TDCJ to report detailed annual data on restrictive housing; supporters said the bill would improve transparency around solitary confinement, and the committee left it pending before adjourning.

Transcript Highlights:

• that you have an impact on a population that you actually<00:01:36.000> sit<00:01:36.159>
• down<00:01:36.400> with<00:01:36.560> that<00:01:36.799> population.
• actually sit down with that population. actually sit down with that population.
• <00:10:23.200> is<00:10:23.440> that uh, economy and population is that uh, economy
• and population is that they're<00:10:24.240> they're<00:10:24.560> just<00:10:24.720><

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• buildings are simply outdated and insufficient, and they have just outgrown our 25,000-plus student population
• be able to give you the exact number, but I'm more than sure it's more than 50% of the student population
• be able to give you the exact number, but I'm more than sure it's more than 50% over a student population
• So what percentage of the student population showed up for the election? It sounds like about 10%.
• The population at the time when HEAF was originally put in was less than half of what the state is today

Bills: HB42, HB125

Keywords: special prosecutor, state law, criminal justice, accountability, law enforcement, stormwater management, counties, regulation, environment, water quality

Summary: The Committee on Higher Education met to hear several bills and first corrected the minutes from its April 1, 2025 meeting to reflect that a committee substitute for HB 271 had been adopted before the bill was reported favorably. The committee then heard HB 3326, which would help Texas higher education employees, especially adjunct faculty, qualify for federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness by counting classroom hours toward full-time status, requiring institutions to verify employment within 60 days, and requiring annual notice to eligible employees. No witnesses testified against the bill, and it was left pending. Members then heard HB 2853, authorizing UTEP to phase in a student union fee increase to fund demolition and reconstruction of its aging student union. Representative Perez and UTEP student and university witnesses said the current facility is outdated and insufficient for a campus of more than 25,000 students, while some members raised concerns about the size of the fee increase and its impact on low-income students. UTEP representatives said most students receive aid, the fee would be phased in over time, and the project was student-approved; the bill was left pending. The committee also heard HB 4066, a one-line bill to abolish the Texas Research Incentive Program after the state cleared its backlog of matching obligations, with the author saying the program was no longer needed in light of newer research funding approaches. The bill was left pending. The committee spent substantial time on HB 125, which would create the Tarleton State University College of Osteopathic Medicine. Supporters, including Tarleton leadership, the founding dean, a rural hospital CEO, and a feasibility consultant, argued the school would address severe rural physician shortages by recruiting Texas and rural students, training them in rural settings, and developing new residency slots rather than competing for existing ones. Members asked about affordability, residency placement, and whether the school would draw students from rural Texas; Tarleton said it would seek to keep tuition and debt low, had already raised private donations, and would request $25 million in state support over the biennium. The bill was left pending. Finally, the committee heard HB 42, which would increase the annual Higher Education Fund appropriation and adjust its allocation methodology. The chair and university witnesses described rising deferred maintenance, inflation, cybersecurity needs, and enrollment growth at HEAF-eligible institutions, with witnesses from Texas Tech, Sam Houston State, and UNT saying the additional funding would help address aging facilities and technology needs. After testimony, the committee left HB 42 pending and recessed.

Transcript Highlights:

• staff and worked closely with Metropolitan district court judges and staff on a number of inmate population
• Whether it was obtaining my first big promotion at the age of 20. years old, implementing jail population
• We want to make sure it's also as healthy in those populations. that are helping make that water healthy
• They can already manage beaver populations. Now, are they— putting enough emphasis?
• more research and it's going to help our farmers, ranchers, and irrigators manage these beaver populations

Transcript Highlights:

• When those populations include pet animals, we are actively working on humane solutions to try and reduce
• those populations, and we would urge this committee to reject this old mindset in favor of working with
• stakeholders to come up with humane, compassionate, effective solutions to address these populations
• <00:17:47.440> If<00:17:47.480> we abuses fueling this population.
• If we abuses fueling this population.

Bills: SCR120, SCR71, SCR164, SCR41

Keywords: rangelands, pastoralists, pastoralism, ranching, ranchers, paniolo, livestock, grazing, grasslands, land management, conservation, sustainable agriculture, agriculture, Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity, University of Hawaii, ecosystem services, carbon sequestration, wildlife habitat, Hawaii counties, International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists

Transcript Highlights:

• You know, we have 37% of our population today is obese.
• question, how does this somehow bolster delivery of care or the health and well-being of the rural population
• to get a full definition of, you know, what's... ...is there a complete dividing line based on population
• rural and that every grant that we look at, every initiative that we look at, what is the patient population
• We really need to look and prioritize projects that are helping a population in a rural area predominantly

Keywords: 908, all

Summary: The Rural Health Transformation Committee met to receive an extensive briefing from the Department of Health and Human Services on North Dakota’s federal Rural Health Transformation award. HHS leaders Pat Traynor, Donna Auckland, Jonathan Ollum, and Krista Freming described the $198.9 million award, the tight federal timelines for obligating and liquidating funds, and the need for rapid procurement, CMS approval, and technical assistance. They outlined broad funding priorities including connect tech/data, care closer to home, workforce recruitment and retention, and a “Make North Dakota Healthy Again” prevention initiative focused on chronic disease, movement, nutrition, behavioral health, and community connection. They also emphasized that the program cannot fund new buildings or supplant existing funding, and that sustainability will be a key requirement for all projects. The department previewed likely first-round grant opportunities, including recruitment and retention incentives, technical assistance and equipment grants for rural providers, financial analysis support for rural hospitals, and exploration of a unified electronic health record option. Freming also reviewed four policy bills tied to the award: a presidential fitness test, nutrition continuing medical education, the Physician Assistant Compact, and pharmacist scope-of-practice changes, explaining that these policy actions affect future scoring and funding. HHS said it will work with tribes, local public health, hospitals, medical and pharmacy associations, and other partners, and will use a website, listserv, listening sessions, and committee updates to communicate opportunities. Committee members raised concerns about how the money will reach rural residents, whether newspapers and existing local communication networks will be used, how “rural” and “frontier” will be defined, how faith communities might participate in behavioral health efforts, and how HHS will avoid CMS delays and supplanting issues. HHS responded that the focus will be on where the patient lives and on rural community need, that local public health units and existing structures will be part of outreach, and that technical assistance and template applications will help speed approvals. The committee approved the December 4, 2025 minutes, then recessed into divisions for further work on the appropriations bill and the four policy bills, with the full committee set to reconvene the next morning.

Transcript Highlights:

• WITH CHRONIC BRONCHITIS REPORTED BY 9 PERCENT FOR NURSES COMPARED TO 3.4 PERCENT OF THE GENERAL POPULATION
• ALARMINGLY NURSES FACE TWICE THE RESPIRATORY RISK THAN THAT OF THE GENERAL POPULATION. 10.9 PERCENT OF
• OR NURSES HAD POURED O76 AND 22.9 REPORTED SINUS INFECTIONS COMPARED TO 11 PERCENT OF THE POPULATION
• BY 2031 IN THREE FLORIDIANS WILL BE 65 OR OLDER AND BY 2050 TO 85 AND OLDER POPULATION WILL HAVE TRIPLED
• WE LOOK AT THE DATA PEOPLE WHO ARE MOVING TO THE STATE IT IS AN OLDER POPULATION.

Transcript Highlights:

• You know, even in 2012, In 2021, the fact that people of color make up at least 95% of the population
• Twenty-seven percent of the Hidalgo County population lives below the poverty line.
• by 5.6%, and the multiracial population by 276%.
• When you dilute the voting power of communities of color—communities that drive Texas's population and
• There is... a smaller number of those than correctly represents the population of Texas.

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Currently incarcerated women who represent just 8% of the prison population are often subjected to group
• These surges developed for a predominantly male population are not only ineffective at detecting contraband
• Approximately 1/3 of the women's jail prison population suffers from some form of depression.
• We had in fiscal year 2023, we had 31 assaults among the client population at the civil commitment center
• uh, financial costs as restrictive housing units are far more expensive to operate than general population

Transcript Highlights:

• California has the most linguistic and culturally diverse population in the state, yet California has
• As was noted earlier, menopause affects 51 percent of the population.
• As was noted earlier, menopause affects 51% of the population, an estimated 1.3 billion women worldwide
• As you heard earlier, we are 51% of the population, but we gave birth to 100% of the population.
• Madam Secretary, please call the vote. we gave birth to 100% of the population. It is about time.

Summary: The Assembly Business and Professions Committee heard a long agenda of licensing, health care, and workforce bills. Measures discussed included AB 957, which would prohibit tobacco sales in licensed pharmacies; AB 447, which would allow patients to take home certain unopened medications started in emergency rooms; AB 427, joining the Social Work Licensure Compact; AB 667, allowing interpreters for certain licensing exams; AB 742, prioritizing descendants of slaves in licensing review; AB 873, changing infection-control training timing for dental assistants; AB 360, requiring a report on menopause education for physicians; and AB 1175, modernizing CPA licensure requirements and mobility. Testimony generally emphasized public health, access to care, workforce shortages, language access, and economic opportunity, while opposition or concerns focused on implementation, worker protections, compact authority, and constitutional issues in AB 742. Several bills drew broad support from sponsors, professional associations, and advocacy groups. AB 957 was backed by cancer and pharmacy advocates and pharmacists who said pharmacies should not sell tobacco; AB 447 was supported by emergency medicine and hospital representatives as a way to reduce waste and help patients leave with needed medication; AB 427 drew support from social work and mental health groups but concerns from AFSCME about standards and displacement; AB 667 was supported by immigrant-rights and community groups, with questions about whether translated exams would be preferable to interpreters; AB 360 received extensive support from women’s health advocates and medical groups, and opposition from CMA and ACOG was removed after amendments; and AB 1175 was supported by the Board of Accountancy and CPA groups as a way to expand the pipeline and improve mobility. The committee took votes after quorum was established. AB 360, AB 427, AB 447, AB 667, AB 873, AB 1175, and AB 742 were all approved and sent to their next committees, with AB 742 going to Judiciary and AB 1175 to Appropriations. AB 957 was initially held on call, then later passed after additional votes were recorded. The consent calendar bills AB 375, AB 1107, and AB 1496 were also approved. Most measures passed on largely party-line or near-unanimous votes, with some members not voting on certain items during the roll calls.

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, so, Mike, I'm looking at page 2, line 4, municipality population.
• As 30% of the formula and per capita, which is the population of that county, as a 70% factor.
• Chairman, when I look at Albuquerque as an example, it has a population here on this chart of 562,488
• OK, and then you go right across there to Carlsbad as an example in Eddy County, population of 31,000
• Chairman, Representative, obviously the population centers tend to benefit or will benefit more than

Transcript Highlights:

• That's the total population.
• I think you've heard a lot about what co-navigators can do to assist the deafblind population.
• And I, what I will say is that this is a tiny population.
• So in region 9, so community-based care is implemented, uh, the population, service population is children
• Population in our in our system currently.

Bills: HB 451, HB 645, HB 1041, HB 1151, HB 1155, HB 1536, HCR 12

Keywords: commercial sexual exploitation, child sex trafficking, human trafficking, child welfare, foster care, DFPS, Department of Family and Protective Services, juvenile probation, risk assessment, needs assessment, trauma screening, child abuse prevention, exploitation screening, validated screening tool, evidence-informed tool, conservatorship, juvenile justice, at-risk youth, trafficking prevention, Child Sex Trafficking Prevention Unit