Transcript Highlights:

• It doesn't expand, but it doesn't contract.
• It doesn't expand, but it doesn't contract.
• , can't give their CVS mail-order the mail-order contract, then companies...
• I appreciate he has helped me to continue to work through the process here with this.
• I appreciate he has helped me to continue to work through the process here with this.

Summary: The Public Health Committee heard several bills, beginning with HB 4336, which updates definitions of acute and chronic pain to align with the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Act and adds certain violations as unprofessional conduct. The committee adopted a PCS as the working draft, took no questions, and passed the bill 7-0. HB 3194, which would prevent pregnancy centers from being singled out for discrimination or censorship based on pro-life principles, drew questions about oversight, medical staffing, ultrasound interpretation, and contraceptive counseling; after discussion, it passed 6-1. The committee then passed HB 3934, described as a measure to help rural Oklahoma children get dental care through dental hygienists, with a question confirming parents could opt in or out. HB 3762, dealing with chiropractic practice and defining “serum” to cover vitamins, minerals, and nutrients while excluding blood products, was amended in committee but did not receive a motion and remained in committee. HB 1818, clarifying licensed social workers as licensed bachelor social workers and aligning Oklahoma with neighboring states, passed 6-0. Later, HB 3538 on pharmacy benefit manager vertical integration and community pharmacy reimbursement passed 7-0 after extensive discussion about independent pharmacy closures, mail-order pharmacy issues, specialty drugs, and network access. HB 3682, the Oklahoma Clean Indoor Air Act, would prohibit smoking in most public gathering places while allowing certain exceptions and local governments to adopt stricter rules; it passed 7-0. The committee also heard HB 3793, a placeholder bill on nursing education and diploma programs intended to address workforce shortages, but no motion was made and it remained in committee. The meeting ended with a short recess for the swearing-in of a new representative-elect.

Transcript Highlights:

• I don’t know what that means, but their contract started yesterday, April 1st.
• </c><00:53:44.079><c> goes</c> to Rico um and so that process goes to Rico um and so that process goes
• I mean, they don't even have the contract anymore.
• Well, my community health center is contracting with Maioli Pharmacy on Maui.
• </c> one pharmacist as part of the contract one pharmacist as part of the contract in<01:05:24.880><c

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The committee heard several measures, beginning with SB 1046 SD1 on condominiums. Testimony on that bill focused on reserve funding and enforcement of reserve study requirements. The Community Associations Institute opposed the bill, saying it would create hardship, confusion, and be difficult to administer, while also urging stronger penalties for boards that fail to comply with reserve study rules. The Real Estate Commission offered comments, and one testifier spoke in support. No vote was taken during the portion provided. The committee then heard SB 532 SD2 HD1 relating to the Department of Education, which would improve access to pre-approved medications for students with health conditions at school and during off-campus activities. The Department of Health, University of Hawaiʻi nursing and medical programs, and the Department of Education all supported the measure, with DOH suggesting amendments to better identify the correct student and improve medication safety. Members had no questions, and the bill moved on. Next was SB 1245 SD2 HD1 relating to pharmacists, a bill to allow reimbursement for clinical services pharmacists are already trained and licensed to provide. The University of Hawaiʻi, Board of Pharmacy, Walgreens, Mikai Drugs, and the Hawaiʻi Pharmacists Association supported the bill, emphasizing improved access to care, recruitment and retention of pharmacists, and better chronic disease management. The Hawaiʻi Pharmacists Association also discussed proposed amendments to prevent plans from denying coverage or network participation when pharmacists meet credentialing requirements. Members questioned whether insurers would actually use pharmacists and how the bill would affect pay and contracting; no vote was taken in the excerpt. The committee also heard SB 1279 SD2 HD1, another pharmacists bill focused on telepharmacy and 340B-related issues. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation supported it, saying telehealth could reduce costs and avoid travel for audits, while the Board of Pharmacy opposed it. Lānaʻi representatives opposed the bill and asked for an exemption, arguing the island already has close in-person access to a resident pharmacist and clinics. The Hawaiʻi Primary Care Association supported the measure, citing large patient savings from 340B pricing, while Mikai Drugs opposed it, arguing that mail-order and telepharmacy are not necessary on some islands and can create delivery and medication-safety problems. Members asked questions about insurer participation, scope of practice, and whether the bill would meaningfully change reimbursement; the transcript ends before any final action or vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• The process is actually quite simple.
• or any issues related to the process might look like.
• We should allow the judicial process to play out.
• These go at the heart of due process.
• That punishment is without due process. And due process, per the Constitution, is not optional.

Summary: The House opened with prayer, a moment of silence for former member Chester Clem, the Pledge of Allegiance, and quorum confirmation. Members then adopted the special order report for the day and approved a Rules and Ethics Committee report amending House Rule 15.3 to allow fundraising under certain circumstances during extended or special sessions. The chamber then took up several bills. HB 1405 on a statewide project for missing persons with special needs passed unanimously. CS/CS/CS/SB 290, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services bill, passed 94-10 after debate focused on conservation land surplus procedures and agricultural use of state lands. CS/CS/CS/HB 905, the “Fire Act” on foreign influence, foreign gifts, critical infrastructure, sister city agreements, and related restrictions, passed 80-20 after the House adopted an amendment adding a prohibition on certain surrogacy contracts involving citizens or residents of foreign countries of concern. CS/CS/HB 1197, dealing with information technology procurement and contracting, passed 109-0. HB 1103 on local administration of vessel restrictions passed unanimously. The House also debated CS/CS/CS/HB 399 on land use and development regulations. Supporters said it would limit development fees, standardize compatibility rules, allow manufactured homes in RV parks, and lower voting thresholds for comprehensive plan changes to address housing affordability; opponents argued it would preempt local control, weaken voter-approved urban boundary protections, and risk conservation lands. An amendment to preserve Orange County’s boundary rules failed, while a technical amendment on manufactured homes passed. The bill then passed 71-38. The House also passed several local bills, including measures for the Pace Fire Rescue District, Avalon Beach/Mulat Fire Protection District, East Point Water and Sewer District, Fellsmere Water Control District, and Headwaters Water Control District, with votes ranging from 83-27 to unanimous approval. The transcript also included farewell remarks from Representative Angie Nixon before the House returned to remaining business.

Transcript Highlights:

• We are continuing to implement automated processes so that we can process some of our applications, like
• Right now, I think we're processing applications.
• the number of contracts that we process in the agency, a huge savings.
• What does that process look like?
• I have yet to brief now my third director of MES in the process to get that.

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> we're in the Senate um process. we're in the Senate um process.
• </c> application processes. application processes.
• is a contract.
• You have tenant contract is a contract.
• </c> a contract with full information. a contract with full information.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> Bill 41, however, replaces this process Bill 41, however, replaces this process with<00:09:09.200
• </c><00:14:43.920><c> to</c> difficult and complicated process to difficult and complicated process to
• </c> electoral process. electoral process.
• But this would cover early site permitting process, the process for that, and then also a license and
• <c> with</c><00:48:53.680><c> the</c> What's with the contract with the What's with the contract with

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00:00 Roll Call 00:00:10 SB 11 Discussion 00:01:20 SB 11 Vote 00:05:00 SB 41 Discussion 00:5:43 SB 41 Vote 00:15:03 SB 59 Discussion 00:20:30 SB 59 Vote 00:28:15 SB 57 Discussion 00:29:40 SB 57 Vote 00:40:00 SB 125 Discussion 00:42:43 SB 125 Vote 00:50:53 SB 191 Discussion 00:53:19 SB 191 Vote 00:59:38, 958, all

Summary: The committee first took up Senate Bill 11, a proposal to create a matching-grant program for neighborhood storm shelters in rural Kentucky. Sponsor Steve Meredith and supporters from the Kentucky League of Cities and the City of Morgantown said the idea was to use FEMA-style funding to help residents who live far from community shelters, noting that in some rural counties it can take 30 to 45 minutes to reach a shelter during severe weather. The committee adopted the substitute and passed the bill 11-0, with no nay votes. The committee then considered Senate Bill 41, which would require a ballot referendum whenever a taxing entity raises property taxes more than 4 percent, rather than relying on the current petition process. Sponsor Gary Boswell said the bill would give taxpayers more direct control and argued that local governments should simply avoid raising taxes above the threshold. Superintendents from Rockcastle and Casey counties opposed the bill, saying it would weaken local control, add election costs, delay budgets, and make it harder for school districts to keep up with inflation, insurance, transportation, and construction costs. After debate, the committee passed the bill 7-3 with favorable expression. Next, the committee heard Senate Bill 59, which would add criminal penalties to KRS 65.013, the law barring public funds from being used to advocate for or against ballot questions. Sponsor Steve Rawlings said the measure was prompted by reports of school officials using public resources to oppose a 2024 ballot issue and argued the law needs real enforcement to protect taxpayers and election integrity. Members raised concerns about First Amendment issues and the bill’s gray areas, especially for public employees speaking on their own time; Rawlings said the substitute removed volunteer references, allowed balanced issue debates, and clarified that employees acting on their own time and resources would not be prohibited. The committee passed the bill 8-3 with favorable expression. The committee also began hearing Senate Bill 57, as substituted, from Senator Danny Carroll. The bill would create a nuclear-ready site readiness pilot program under the Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority, with up to three projects receiving up to $25 million each to help cover early site permitting and related licensing costs. Carroll, along with witnesses from the UK Center for Applied Energy Research and the Public Service Commission, said the goal is to build a nuclear energy ecosystem in Kentucky, with safeguards including surety bonds, deadlines, and cost-recovery provisions. The discussion was still underway when the transcript ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• There is a clipboard at the podium that can be passed around to expedite that process a little bit.
• So how quickly can we contract, liquidate, and spend the funding as well.
• to get all the paperwork pushed through for the contracts will be a challenge.
• We do anticipate a number of different mechanisms to award these funds: direct contracts...
• We intend this to be a very transparent process and program.

Keywords: 908, all

Summary: The Joint Policy Committee met to hear an overview of North Dakota’s Rural Health Transformation Program before taking up the related policy bills. Department of Health and Human Services staff explained that the state received a $198.9 million CMS award, with funding focused on four pillars: strengthening rural workforce, bringing care closer to home, connecting technology and data, and improving population health through prevention. They emphasized that the program is intended to benefit rural and frontier residents statewide, including areas near urban centers when the project serves rural patients, and that CMS approval, provider readiness, and sustainability will drive what can be funded. Committee members asked about how the program would treat border communities, frontier counties, urban providers serving rural patients, multilingual outreach, tribal consultation, and whether there would be information sessions for applicants. HHS said the website will include sign-up and translation features, more listening sessions and training will be offered, and a rural health tribal liaison will work alongside the existing Medicaid tribal liaison. Members also raised concerns about reimbursement timing, cash flow for providers, and whether projects in urban areas could qualify; HHS responded that urban projects may be eligible if they clearly benefit rural residents. The department then outlined the four policy bills tied to the grant scoring: nutrition continuing medical education for physicians, the presidential fitness test, the physician assistant compact, and pharmacist scope of practice. HHS said these policy actions were incentivized in the federal funding opportunity and that failure to pass them could reduce future funding. The committee did not take final action on the bills in this portion of the transcript and recessed for lunch before moving on.

Transcript Highlights:

• My recollection is that the goal was... and the way the budgeting process was working, Senator, is that
• It has to do with contract review, making some... ...to do with contract review, making some technical
• I currently have the privilege to serve on the contract... ...have the privilege to serve on contract
• I may not be able to answer right now, but I just wanted to know who all served on contract review.
• I'm certainly open-minded, but I also know that we need the process to work for everybody. Okay.

Bills: HB207, SB269, SB279, SB291, SB266

Keywords: cybersecurity, Office of Information Technology, data management, telecommunications, state government, emergency management, public awareness, promotional materials, education, state funding, Alabama State House, Montgomery, Legislative Council, demolition, state capitol, state capitol building, historic preservation, state property, inventory removal, fixtures

Transcript Highlights:

• Our Senate bill strengthens an existing process in a narrow, targeted way.
• There are other counties that share a TFAP contract, for example, Orange, Del Norte.
• There are other counties that share a TFAP contract, for example, Orange, Del Nort.
• , amend the contract.
• their contracts, distributed amongst other things.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They're processed. They go to one of the units.
• Chair: ...that slows down the process and third is ask yourself anything in the process that you really
• It’s the same process.
• Part of this funding would continue those contracts at the increased cost of those contracts.
• Brian: ...We contracted with a vendor.

Bills: SB 1

Keywords: campground safety, youth camp regulations, flood safety, emergency evacuation, health and safety standards, 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• As I shared before, we did execute a contract for three additional ferries.
• We will continue to share where we are on the program as we move forward in the process.
• We will continue to share where we are on the program as we move forward in the process.
• We've had community engagement throughout this process.
• , as they sometimes are frustrated with the process.

Bills: SB5989

Keywords: aircraft fuel tax, tax revenue distribution, aviation funding, transportation, state revenue, 904, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And then lastly, it requires the district to contract or authorizes the city to contract with the city
• She said that would make the process consistent and noted that regional fire authorities have provided
• All fire department personnel equipment and contracts transfer seamlessly to the new district permits
• the fire district to contract with the city for administrative services.
• First, public universities already have processes in place to cut academic programs.

Bills: SB6194, SB5963, SB5909, SB5826, SB5988, SB5872, SB5879, SB5834, SB5835, SB5905, SB5832, SB6177, SB5970, SB5994, SB6047, SB5647

Keywords: SB 6194, Washington Medicaid, medical assistance, fee-for-service, managed care, rural hospital, Indian reservation, tribal hospital, federally recognized Indian reservation, Indian Health, hospital reimbursement, Medicaid payments, inpatient services, outpatient services, psychiatric unit, health care access, rural health, tribal health, safety-net hospital, RCW 74.09

Transcript Highlights:

• Your partnership is critical to our budget process.
• To reduce costs that maybe we're contracting out for.
• I have a question on what the selection process for this pilot program would actually entail?
• Additionally, streamlining the hiring process would be. extraordinarily helpful.
• of an outsourced contract staffing agency and be inside CDCR, so.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• public is $100,000, and such repairs or renovations with a greater estimated cost must also be contracted
• The bill also increases the maximum estimated cost of work procurement that WSDOT can contract for to
• The maximum estimated cost of work procurement that WSDOT can contract for to enable a larger number
• I was trying to find the process here.
• So it's a very robust service operation, and we are in the process of growing that.

Keywords: 904, all

Transcript Highlights:

• As legislators, we have two crucial responsibilities in this process.
• And as of December 2024, the newborn screening program has processed 43 opt-out forms to date.
• To date, we have executed all but one of the contracts.
• The department contracted last fiscal year, Research.
• So it's in process. Again, it was supposed to go live January 1.

Summary: The Health Professions and Program Subcommittee met for an introductory and oversight briefing from the Florida Department of Health on implementation of several 2024 laws. The committee heard first from Jennifer Winhold on practitioner-regulation measures, including SB 1716 and SB 1600, which expanded workforce pathways through foreign-trained physician licensure, area-of-critical-need temporary certificates for APRNs and physician assistants, graduate assistant physician licenses, interstate compacts, and a new universal licensure-by-endorsement process. She also reviewed HB 197 on massage therapy enforcement, HB 975 on broader background screening, HB 1561 on office-surgery and liposuction safeguards, HB 159 on pharmacist HIV post-exposure prophylaxis certification, and HB 1063 on chiropractic dry needling and foreign degree licensure. Members asked about compact scope, foreign graduate requirements, massage enforcement overlap with DBPR, and registration thresholds for liposuction procedures. Dr. Emma Spencer then outlined implementation of SB 76 and related programs, including changes to the FRAME and dental loan repayment programs, the volunteer health care provider program, the Casey DeSantis Cancer Research Program, the Health Care Innovation Council and revolving loan program, and the Andrew John Anderson Pediatric Rare Disease Grant Program. She said the department had updated portals, posted forms, launched or was developing public search tools, and submitted required reports and contracts. Members questioned whether loan repayment funds were reaching rural and underserved areas, how nonprofit applicants were being informed about the Alphonse screening grant program, the short application window for that grant, and how the department would evaluate whether the programs were improving recruitment and retention. A third presentation, delivered by Mike Mason standing in for Shea Holloway, covered maternal and child health and other public health initiatives. He reported on the telehealth maternity care program’s expansion from a pilot in Duval and Orange counties to 23 counties, the pregnancy-and-parenting resources website required by HB 415, CMV newborn screening requirements under SB 168, sickle cell registry and research grants under HB 7085, and the swim lessons voucher program under SB 544, which received nearly 10,000 requests for 3,500 vouchers and enrolled 86 facilities. Members asked about utilization, marketing, website launch timing, and how the department was promoting these services. No bills were voted on; the meeting concluded with the chair noting that more committee presentations and bills would follow and that briefing materials would be distributed to members.

Transcript Highlights:

• Those are in process.
• , procurement process, to become the one HIE for Mississippi?
• What qualifications does MEMA have with respect to this process?
• When you ask what do you mean by a part of this process?
• And was there a contract let out, or was this a direct appropriation?

Keywords: Public Health and Welfare - Room 216, 4 June, 2026; 2:30 PM, 925, all

Transcript Highlights:

• How does that process work?
• Part of that contract then is typically... I'm getting there.
• So the entire process still occurs.
• These are all real costs that our contracting industry incurs.
• was an active contract on it.

Summary: The committee first heard House Bill 1645, which would reduce Missouri’s general personal injury statute of limitations from five years to two years for claims after August 28, 2026, while also extending the civil statute of limitations for child sexual abuse claims from 10 years to 20 years after the victim turns 21. Representative Overcast and supporters from the insurance and business communities argued the change would improve Missouri’s business climate, lower insurance costs, and align the state with most others; opponents, including trial lawyers and victim advocates, warned that shortening the filing window would harm injured adults and sexual abuse survivors who need more time to come forward. Representative Sites supported the child sexual abuse expansion but said broader retroactivity work was still ongoing. No vote was taken in the hearing itself, but the bill drew both support and opposition testimony. The committee then heard House Bill 1610 and House Bill 2182, both of which were described as similar proposals to shorten the general civil statute of limitations, with HB 1610 moving from five years to three years and HB 2182 moving from five years to two years. Supporters repeated the same business-climate and insurance-rate arguments, while opponents repeated concerns about access to justice and the time needed to investigate complex injuries. Several witnesses from the insurance, chamber, farm bureau, railroad, and business groups testified in support, and some said they preferred two years over three. The chair noted the testimony was largely repetitive across the bills, and the hearings concluded without recorded votes in the transcript. Finally, the committee heard House Bill 2714, which would change Missouri from a pure comparative fault system to a modified comparative fault system, barring recovery if a plaintiff is found more than 50% at fault. The sponsor and supporters said the bill would make Missouri more business-friendly and more consistent with neighboring states, while opponents from the trial bar argued it would unfairly cut off recovery for injured people and that juries already apportion fault under current law. Testimony focused on how fault percentages are determined, the effect on settlements and trials, and examples such as car crashes and product liability cases. The hearing ended with continued opposition testimony and no final committee action reported in the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• As of right now, it's helped us in the fact that Border Patrol is no longer in processing centers processing
• But sometimes when you're looking at administrative processes... administrative processes, and especially
• That slows down the process.
• To process a new issuance is 40 to 45. to process a renewal takes about 10 to 15 minutes.
• It's important to have a process.

Bills: SB1

Keywords: campground safety, youth camp regulations, flood safety, emergency evacuation, health and safety standards

Summary: The committee heard a Legislative Budget Board presentation and then testimony from the Department of Public Safety on the Article 5 public safety budget. LBB said DPS’s 2026-27 recommendation totals $3.7 billion, down from the prior base, while FTEs rise by 856.7. Major items included increased funding for driver license services and customer support, new trooper funding and recruit schools, crime lab operations, border security, and reductions tied to one-time facility, vehicle, and aircraft spending. The committee also discussed new riders, including one to lapse unused trooper funds and require reporting after recruit schools. Members focused heavily on driver license operations, questioning why prior staffing increases and a prior efficiency study had not solved long wait times, high call abandonment, and appointment delays. DPS and LBB said the agency receives about 22,000 calls per day, answers only about 9 percent, and is seeking more staff plus technology upgrades such as automation, kiosks, and better online processing. Senators also raised concerns about rural access, REAL ID document requirements, and whether the department should rethink its processes rather than simply add employees. DPS leadership then described needs for the Williamson County training academy, additional troopers, Capitol and Alamo security, border operations, aircraft and vehicle replacement, and regional headquarters in El Paso and San Antonio. Members asked about Operation Lone Star costs, overtime, pursuit safety, border crime, oilfield theft, and sexual assault kit and toxicology backlogs. DPS said border deployments remain focused on criminal threats, that overtime is partly driven by deployments and staffing shortages, and that the sexual assault kit backlog is down to 118 cases with a goal of zero by April. The committee later recessed and began the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission budget presentation, where LBB outlined a $115.1 million recommendation and noted ongoing costs for the AIMS technology project.

Transcript Highlights:

• In that process, basically, is a milling and processing technique.
• They're the only ones that can process.
• This is not a good way to process things when this can be a very simple application process.
• claims process.
• Is it the department or is it contracted out? Mr.

Transcript Highlights:

• Merchant processing fees in one month...
• Merchant processing fees in one month: $4,000. $4,000, and in one year, $38,000.
• This is not a broad subsidy program or a complicated grant process.
• It is a longer, drawn-out process.
• So there is a process already there.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Special Legislative Commission on the Future of Payments and Sales Transactions by Credit Card and the Impacts for Small Businesses held a public hearing focused on interchange fees, sales tax and tip processing, chargebacks, fraud, surcharging, and the broader future of payment systems. Chair Paul Feeney and co-chair Rep. Jamie Murphy opened by explaining the commission’s charge and inviting testimony from small businesses, industry groups, banks, and policy experts. Representative Sean Garballey testified first, arguing that Massachusetts tourism depends on universal card acceptance and stable interchange, and urging the commission not to disrupt the current system ahead of major events expected to bring millions of visitors to the Commonwealth. A large portion of the hearing featured independent restaurant owners and advocates describing thin margins and the burden of paying percentage-based processing fees on sales tax and tips that are not business revenue. Jen Ziskin, Kristen Canty, Nancy Cushman, Kerry Colzer, and others said restaurants often operate on very small profits and that processing fees on taxes and gratuities can amount to tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. Ryan Lotz also urged reforms to chargebacks, including refunding chargeback fees when merchants prevail, requiring consumers to contact businesses before disputing charges, and limiting repeat abuse. Commission members pressed witnesses on whether tax and tip amounts could be separated at the point of sale, and several witnesses said current consumer card systems do not transmit that level of detail. Testimony from credit union, banking, and payments representatives largely opposed state-level changes that would carve out taxes or tips from interchange, warning of compliance burdens, higher costs, reduced rewards, and possible effects on fraud protection and access to credit. Alex Verine of America’s Credit Unions and Deb Peters and Keely McEwen of the Electronic Payments Coalition said the payment system is complex, that interchange funds fraud prevention and network infrastructure, and that new state mandates could create operational and legal uncertainty. Dan Swanson argued states have authority to act and pointed to Illinois litigation and federal court rulings, while Julian Morris and Brad Popolado emphasized the benefits of card acceptance, the decline of cash, and the need to consider other payment methods and check fraud as well. Several witnesses discussed international payment systems, instant payments, and QR standards as possible future directions. The chairs and members engaged in extended back-and-forth with witnesses about whether Massachusetts could exempt sales tax from swipe fees, whether surcharging should be revisited, and whether vendor compensation or other targeted relief might be more workable than broad changes to interchange. No votes were taken. At the close of the hearing, the chairs said the commission would hold one additional public hearing date to be determined, after which members would begin developing next steps and a report.