Transcript Highlights:

• Of Trustees of the Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma.
• Marla Tharp for your consideration as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Teachers' Retirement
• We have over 210,000 members of teacher retirement, and 50% of them are active, approximately, and then
• Both these suggestions came from the Director of the Teacher Retirement System." Thank you, Mr.
• Both these suggestions came from the Director of the Teacher Retirement System.

Bills: HB3057 , HB3279 , HB4428 , HB3420

Committee: Senate Retirement and Government Resources

Summary: The Senate Committee on Retirement and Insurance met and first passed House Bill 3057, which removes obsolete statutorily required reports identified in a Loft review to streamline agency reporting requirements. Senator Kirt asked whether any agency functions were being eliminated, and Senator Rader said some reporting-related functions would no longer be required, citing the organized retail crime task force final report as an example. The bill passed 7-0. The committee then unanimously confirmed Marla Tharp to another four-year term on the Board of Trustees of the Teachers’ Retirement System of Oklahoma, with members discussing her service, the system’s unfunded liability, and her long career in school administration. After that, House Bill 3279 passed 9-0. That measure raises the conflict-of-interest certification threshold to contracts of $25,000 or more, bars involved officers or employees from taking jobs with the winning contractor for one year, and clarifies that another person may sign for a director. Senators asked how broadly the restriction applies and whether the change addressed existing loopholes. House Bill 4428 also passed, 7-2, after debate and amendment. The bill directs pension boards and proxy advisors to focus on pecuniary factors in investment and proxy voting decisions, while limiting reliance on non-pecuniary considerations unless they affect financial risk or return. Amendments added language requiring entities to be headquartered and operate in the United States and aligned the bill’s investment-purpose language with existing statute. Senator Kirt opposed the measure, arguing it could unduly limit long-term considerations and proxy voting. Finally, House Bill 3420 passed 8-0. Described as part of a bipartisan effort informed by the state auditor and Loft, it makes several changes to the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act, including limiting pilot procurement testing to one year, removing flex benefit plan acquisitions from certain bidding exemptions, clarifying that professional services need not be bid, and posting sole-source and sole-brand reports on the OMES website instead of sending them to legislative leadership. Senators questioned several deletions and additions, and the author said the bill was intended to clean up procurement rules and reduce opportunities for waste or abuse.

Transcript Highlights:

• Members, House Bill 3671 allows experienced teachers to carry their career teacher status to a new district
• bill further clarifies that this is for evaluation purposes only, not for determining if or when a teacher
• It's calling them a career teacher. Would they be tenured in their new school immediately also?
• Those dollars would be better served if we were giving them to our teachers, if we were hiring more teachers
• , hiring more teachers' aides, investing in the other things instead.

Committee: House A&B Education Subcommittee

Transcript Highlights:

• And I will say funding was mostly dedicated to teacher salaries to hiring teachers for our summer bridge
• was acquired to provide a summer bridge program and therefore, they can serve at least 12 with the teacher
• What I I can tell you is the majority of our summer bridge, teachers that are providing our summer bridge
• right to provide said services ports, if the teacher and which is providing that the actual summer bridge
• provide some services. >> So I definitely would require additional funding right for a particular teacher

Transcript Highlights:

• We know right now that there's a huge teacher shortage everywhere nationwide.
• Right now, in order to be a teacher, you have to pass the Praxis exam.
• with the current new teachers.
• And so the retired teachers are able to mentor some of our new teachers and provide them support that
• You have to entice teachers to come with. those two typically isn't enough.

Committee: Joint Tribal and State Relations Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• , 80 to 90% of what they would spend state appropriated dollars on are salaries and benefits for teachers
• This is something that Happened to me in my own personal experience as a 20-year classroom teacher.
• So, are we going to be seeking voluntary supervision by Teachers, and if there are none available for
• OK, there is a part in the bill that says teachers may opt in to help supervise those students, but the
• HB 3671 allows experienced teachers to carry their career teacher status to a new school district if

Bills: HB1242 , HB1250 , HB1590 , HB1752 , HB1979 , HB1983 , HB2952 , HB2961 , HB2967 , HB2973 , HB2988 , HB3031 , HB3047 , HB3052 , HB3066 , HB3086 , HB3175 , HB3177 , HB3178 , HB3240 , HB3404 , HB3429 , HB3548 , HB3638 , HB3671 , HB3704 , HB3759 , HB3831 , HB3904 , HB3920 , HB3944 , HB3969 , HB3973 , HB3975 , HB3976 , HB3978 , HB3983 , HB3984 , HB4092 , HB4118

Committee: House Appropriations and Budget

Transcript Highlights:

• Senate Bill 6278, the Secretary will read: An act relating to the ongoing review of approved teacher
• In Washington, our preparation for teacher certification comes from a set of requirements established
• Develop our teacher staff and work throughout the state.
• And so that changed the curriculum constantly in the teacher preparatory colleges.
• As you probably remember during COVID, all of a sudden our teachers had to teach online.

Summary: The Senate considered and passed several bills, many of them after moving substitutes and suspending the rules to advance them directly to final passage. Second Substitute Senate Bill 6035, dealing with access to voting services for military, overseas, Native American, and disabled voters, was described as a civic engagement measure that would require county auditors and the Secretary of State to work with federally recognized tribes and explore a secure voting portal. Supporters emphasized outreach, access, and helping overseas and disabled voters; opponents raised concerns about online voting security, paper ballot integrity, and emerging technologies. The bill passed 38-19. Substitute Senate Bill 6034, which statutorily establishes the Governor’s Office on Indian Affairs, passed unanimously 49-0 after supporters said it would formally anchor an office that has existed for decades and better reflect the state’s government-to-government relationship with tribes. Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6247, on school district financial management and training, also passed 49-0 after an amendment was adopted to delay implementation and clarify funding for training. Supporters said the bill would help school boards, superintendents, and ESDs identify districts sliding toward financial distress and improve fiscal oversight. The Senate also passed Senate Bill 5922, giving school districts more flexibility to transfer unused school bus depreciation funds when declining enrollment means replacement buses may not be needed, and Senate Bill 6278, requiring ongoing review of teacher and principal preparation programs so training better matches classroom needs; both passed with broad support. Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6246, concerning emissions-intensive, trade-exposed facilities under the Climate Commitment Act, drew the most extended debate and passed 27-22 after a striking amendment was adopted and a proposed reporting amendment was rejected. Supporters said it creates a framework for future emissions allowance reductions while protecting jobs and competitiveness; opponents warned it would drive mills and other industrial employers out of Washington. The Senate also passed Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5906, the SAFE Act limiting ICE access to non-public areas of schools, colleges, health care facilities, daycares, and similar sites without a warrant, after adopting amendments related to model policies and union notification; supporters framed it as a safety and due process measure, while opponents called it an attempt to obstruct federal law enforcement. Finally, Substitute Senate Bill 5905, addressing PERS membership for certain port workers in federal railroad retirement plans, passed 49-0 as a technical pension fix.

Transcript Highlights:

• Her career at the institution is a remarkable journey of growth, beginning as a lifeguard and teacher
• Speaker, I also have a teacher from Santa Rosa High School. His name is Walter Alleluia.
• He's a CTE teacher, and he's the CTE teacher of the year for 2026. Fantastic. Welcome to the House.
• Whereas the Milken Educator Award is one of the most prestigious national honors for teachers in the
• P. who was Representative Hernandez's U.S. history teacher.

Bills: HM3 , HM11 , HM14 , HM15 , HM21

Transcript Highlights:

• As a former ag teacher myself, it's ironic that we have CTE on FFA Day.
• It cost about $100,000 per teacher.
• My son loved math, and he was really fortunate to have good math teachers.
• I'm a retired math teacher, and it's...
• There is a Weld-Off series going on that one of our ag teachers is helping with.

Committee: Senate Senate Education

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:43:26.720><c> We</c> teacher graduates or te increase. We teacher graduates or te increase.
• <c> graduates</c><00:43:28.400><c> but</c> want not just teacher graduates but want not just teacher
• 56.640><c> we</c> we understand about teachers we we understand about teachers we understand<01:09:56.960
• </c> programs relating to the teacher programs relating to the teacher recruitment,<01:21:07.760><c>
• </c> the little child said to the teacher. the little child said to the teacher. &gt;&gt; Yeah.

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh I did have a teacher from the Gadson City Schools that reached out to me this summer.
• He got caught and so the teacher rock.
• He said for my teachers, the students, the community, then to have that feeling of security.
• He said for my teachers, the students, the community, then to have that feeling of security.
• </c> because you don't want a new teacher because you don't want a new teacher coming<00:29:06.159><c

Bills: HB187 , HB341 , HB4 , HB175 , HB326 , HB187 , HB341 , HB4 , HB175 , HB326

Committee: House Ways and Means Education

Keywords: HB187, court fees, docket fee, sheriff's fund, sheriff's office, jail operations, law enforcement, county sheriff, court filing fees, Alabama Code 12-19-312, solicitor's fund, clerk's fund, forensic services trust fund, budget flexibility, public safety, municipal court, district court, circuit court, cosmetology, makeup application

Transcript Highlights:

• Does Parents as Teachers fall under DESE?
• Big fan of Parents as Teachers.
• Teachers are more aware. We're training teachers, giving them more professional development.
• That's what I'm getting feedback from teachers on.
• And that is—what is that going right to teachers?

Committee: House Budget

Transcript Highlights:

• We literally have communities that don't know where to put teachers.
• They bring in teachers. They don't have anywhere to put them.
• They bring in teachers. They don't have anywhere to put them.
• They bring in teachers. They don't have anywhere to put them.
• And we pick on that a lot and use nurses and teachers and policemen.

Committee: House Joint Committee on Rural Economic Development

Summary: The Committee on Economic Development met in executive session and first approved House Committee Substitute for House Bill 2151 by a vote of 11-0. The substitute removed CPI language so the measure would not allow a year-over-year increase, and the committee then voted the bill do pass. The committee then heard House Bill 2474, which would add progressive design-build as another procurement option for municipalities and other local political subdivisions. The sponsor and supporters said it would give local governments more flexibility, speed, and cost control on major projects by allowing a collaborative, multi-stage process before final pricing is set; no one testified in opposition, and the hearing was closed without a vote. The committee next heard House Bill 2693, a port authority bill that the sponsor described as clarifying port authority creation, districts, operations, and partnerships while preserving limits on state liability. Testimony from Port KC and the Missouri Port Authority Association focused on public safety needs, including authority for port rangers with arrest powers in Kansas City’s port district, board appointment and removal provisions, and the need to keep ports competitive for development. Questions also touched on labor standards, housing authority funding, and whether the bill affected data centers; the hearing ended without opposition testimony. Finally, the committee heard House Bill 1716, which would create a Department of Economic Development grant program for rural workforce housing through nonprofit regional partners. The sponsor and Northeast Missouri witnesses said the program is already working in northeast Missouri through a revolving fund, with homes built and sold at cost to help attract and retain workers such as teachers, nurses, and tradespeople; supporters from housing, business, utility, and economic development groups backed the bill, while one witness opposed government involvement in housing. Committee members questioned eligibility, nonprofit-only administration, local contractor use, affordability, and whether the program could crowd out private builders. The sponsor said an amendment would be needed before a vote, and the committee adjourned after the hearing without taking final action on HB 1716 or HB 2693.

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, always a teacher, grant after a um a longerving house grant after a um a longerving house member,
• </c><00:17:43.919><c> Pension</c> not sure about the Duth Teachers Pension not sure about the Duth Teachers
• She was literally, and I mean this literally, everyone's teacher.
• And they said, 'Oh, she was my sixth grade teacher,' or she was my, you know, whatever teacher it was
• And they said, 'Oh, she was my sixth grade teacher,' or she was my, you know, whatever teacher it was

Transcript Highlights:

• The CLO fund was set up for teacher pay and education.
• It's not just a classroom teacher.
• But teachers are in school right now, and we filed thousands of bills.
• My former teacher, you're a former teacher. What's to prevent this? You can already pray.
• You're a teacher, right? You get it all the time. I I know.

Bills: HB4420 , HB3974 , HB3016 , HB3062 , HB3021 , HB3145 , HB4128 , HB3131 , HB3015 , HB3472 , HB3453 , HB1638 , HB4126 , HB2696 , HB2710 , HB3552 , HB3031 , HB3544 , HB3521 , HB4490 , HB4488 , HB1746 , HJR1069 , HB4428 , HB4429 , HB1170 , HB3538 , HB4124 , HB3904 , HB4106 , HB2999 , HB3982 , HJR1077 , HB3464 , HB2588 , HB3462 , HB4440 , HB3674 , HB3345 , HJR1067 , HB4326 , HB4331 , HB4337 , HB4338 , HB4359 , HB4392 , HB3557 , HJR1076 , HB4003 , HB3495 , HB3497 , HB3501 , HB3505 , HB3749 , HB3011 , HB4336 , HB4346 , HJR1087 , HB3240 , HB3647 , HB3796 , HB3969 , HB3972 , HB3983 , HB3984 , HB3989 , HB3383 , HB3130 , HB4358 , HB3327 , HJR1055 , HB3386 , HJR1089 , HB3087 , HB2970 , HB3314 , HB4129 , HB4199

Transcript Highlights:

• Specifically, we're proposing to expand the current critical shortage process for teachers that's run
• for teachers that's run out of DESE so the proposal that we've put forward would allow a for teachers
• My mother was a public school teacher for many years.
• She was the president of her teachers association.
• The current system used by the Mass Teachers Retirement System...

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Public Service

Summary: The Joint Committee on Public Service heard testimony on a wide range of retirement, municipal workforce, and public employee labor bills. Early testimony focused on H. 2749, a Plymouth home rule petition to classify Plymouth harbormaster employees as Group 4 for retirement purposes. Supporters, including local officials and retirement board representatives, argued the employees perform law-enforcement and rescue duties comparable to police and fire personnel, that the change would be fair, and that it would have little or no fiscal impact on the town. A separate harbormaster-related bill, H. 2743, was also introduced later in the hearing. The committee also heard testimony on provisions of the Municipal Empowerment Act (H. 56), including a temporary critical-shortage exemption allowing retired state or municipal employees to return to work in hard-to-fill positions, and a renewed OPEB commission to study retiree health care costs. Administration and municipal officials said the measures were needed to address staffing shortages and rising benefit liabilities, while emphasizing the shortage exemption would be time-limited and require proof of recruitment efforts. Related retirement bills drew support and caution: advocates for higher COLA bases and enhanced COLA benefits urged relief for retirees, but some asked the committee to wait for recommendations from the special COLA commission before acting. A major portion of the hearing concerned labor rights at the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority and the Committee for Public Counsel Services. Union representatives and employees backed bills to extend just-cause protections, promotional rights, and collective bargaining rights to MWRA and CPCS workers, arguing they currently lack protections available to most other public employees. Testimony described unfair discipline, delayed promotions, and high turnover, and committee members indicated prior favorable action on similar MWRA bills and expressed support for addressing CPCS labor rights. The committee also heard from representatives of the Massachusetts Municipal Association and public higher education employees in support of H. 2820, which would require timely funding of ratified state employee contracts, with witnesses describing long delays in receiving negotiated raises and back pay. No votes were taken during the hearing, and the chair repeatedly invited written testimony and closed each panel after questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• Madam Chair, Tony Choggera, on behalf of the California Teachers Association.
• It requires teachers, administrators, parents...
• Brown, representing another co-sponsor of the bill, the California Federation of Teachers.
• Tony Trigero on behalf of the California Teachers Association, a co-sponsor. Thank you.
• We are their primary protectors, advocates, and teachers.

Committee: House Education

Transcript Highlights:

• Teachers do not teach students about gender identity.
• I don't want to say, well, the health teacher has to do it or the PE teacher has to do it.
• It also doesn't speak to the trauma that some children and teachers have with firearms... ...because
• My argument is that we are pushing this onto our teachers.
• We're asking so much already of our teachers and our educators to do so much without.

Committees: House Education , House House Education Committee of Reference

Transcript Highlights:

• Teachers have those standards.
• And that is fair, and it's fair across teachers and medical professionals.
• Doctors, lawyers, and teachers don't carry weapons.
• Doctors, lawyers, and teachers don't carry weapons.
• First, police officers are not teachers. They carry firearms.

Bills: HB2220 , HB2362

Committee: House Community Safety

Keywords: criminal justice training commission, CJTC, law enforcement training, peace officer certification, decertification, corrections officer certification, tribal police certification, police accountability, police oversight, public safety, academy training, in-service training, continuing education, use of force, misconduct investigations, disciplinary hearings, administrative law judge, hearing panel, law enforcement standards, background investigations

Transcript Highlights:

• there's signs of duress and distress in our students, not so that the teachers or the counselors per
• se are not so that the teachers or the counselors per se are providing the direct delivery, but they
• We hear over and over from our teachers that they are at their limit. Thank you.
• For that, we hear over and over from our teachers that they are at their limit.
• Now that her teachers know her plan, they feel empowered, and she is supported.

Summary: The House Education Committee held a work session on the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Work Group and its school-based behavioral health and suicide prevention subgroup, followed by a public hearing on House Bill 1634, as amended in a proposed second substitute. Work group leaders Lisa Callan and Tisha Kirschbaum described the group’s statewide, cross-agency structure, its Washington Thriving strategic plan, and the goal of moving toward a more integrated “system of care” for children and youth. They emphasized that behavioral health, physical health, and education are interconnected, that families and schools often face a fragmented system, and that Washington’s youth flourishing outcomes show a need for stronger supports. Committee members raised concerns about regional disparities, rural access, language and cultural responsiveness, and the burden on schools and educators, while the presenters stressed that schools should be supported to identify needs and connect students to outside clinical services rather than carry the full burden themselves. Representative My-Linh Thai and Christian Stark then outlined the school-based subgroup’s work and recommendations. They said the subgroup meets monthly, includes students, parents, educators, providers, and agencies, and has focused on prevention, early identification, early intervention, and crisis response in schools. For the 2026 session, the subgroup recommended maintaining current investments in school behavioral health programs, strengthening statewide guidance on school behavioral health, and creating a coordinated technical assistance and training network for schools. They explained that the proposed substitute for HB 1634 would direct OSPI and the educational service districts to work with behavioral health agencies and community partners to conduct a needs assessment, map resources, and build a statewide framework for technical assistance and training, with public posting required by August 1, 2027. Testimony in support came from school staff, OSPI, behavioral health professionals, students, parents, and advocacy groups, who described high student anxiety, suicide risk, staffing shortages, and the need for coordinated, accessible supports. One witness from a psychiatric watchdog group opposed the bill, arguing it could increase labeling and drugging rather than holistic care. No vote was taken in the transcript provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• Senate File 3626 is a teacher licensure compact bill that removes barriers to getting more teachers to
• </c><01:17:42.560><c> licensure</c> Senate file 3626 is a teacher licensure Senate file 3626 is a teacher
• 05.080><c> Compact</c> The Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact The Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact
• </c> increases flexibility for teachers increases flexibility for teachers moving<01:19:10.560><c> between
• </c> Teacher Mobility Compact Commission. Teacher Mobility Compact Commission.

Committee: Senate State and Local Government