Transcript Highlights:

• convene a task force on better understanding and supporting parenting students in our higher education
• So, the Department of Higher Education is going to be in charge of this. Is that correct?
• Higher Ed will conduct the study.
• Okay, so, Madam Chair, Senator, it's going to be coming out from the Department of Higher Education.
• Is the Higher Education Department contracting this?

Bills: SB132 , SM16 , SM17

Committee: Senate Senate Rules

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm really struck by your emphasis on education for the educators, but I also am hearing that some of
• Your clarity and leadership to advance meaningful action in schools, higher education, workplaces, and
• And you also wrote specifically about higher ed and those attacks on higher ed, and want to thank you
• If one thing that you can fix, it’s public education. Okay. It is public education.
• Over the course of their elementary, secondary, and higher education, each of them experienced taunting

Summary: The Special Commission on Combating Anti-Semitism opened by approving the minutes from its November 5, 2025 meeting and outlining plans for its next meeting on November 20, when it expects to vote on the draft master report and recommendations. The chair explained that revised drafts would be circulated, changes would be handled by motion, and the final vote would be by roll call. The meeting then moved through several public panels focused on prevention, education, workplace support, and community safety. Parents for Peace testified that anti-Semitism and extremism should be treated as a public health crisis and urged state funding for training in K-12 schools, healthcare, and law enforcement. The panel described its intervention work with radicalized youth and families, argued for early-warning training for educators, and recommended diversion resources for courts and prosecutors so cases can be addressed before they escalate. Commissioners asked about the origins of radicalization, the need for school-based training, and how to connect courts and police to available resources. Project Shema’s Orrin Jacobson argued that effective anti-Semitism education must be nuanced, pluralistic, and grounded in a better understanding of Jewish identity and contemporary anti-Semitism, especially in conversations about Israel and Palestine. He said the group has run dozens of workshops in Massachusetts and emphasized that institutions should adopt content-neutral norms, train staff and administrators, and measure whether trainings lower tensions and increase willingness to intervene. Commissioners asked about handling activists who reject nuance, the role of faculty versus students, and whether classroom norms should limit teachers from advancing personal agendas. A workplace panel from Klaal and Combined Jewish Philanthropies presented survey data showing many Jewish employees feel unsafe being openly Jewish at work and that antisemitism training is the top requested support. They described rapid growth in Jewish employee resource groups, existing programming and stipends for ERG leaders, and recommended mandatory anti-Semitism training, support for Jewish affinity groups in public and private sectors, and broader convenings of major employers. The commission also heard from Truah rabbis and educators, who urged stronger interfaith solidarity, a state office of faith-based and neighborhood partnerships, and explicit attention to democracy and civil rights as part of anti-Semitism strategy. After a recess, the commission heard from Israeli-American, Russian Jewish, and Persian Jewish witnesses who described antisemitism as a lived, personal, and civic issue affecting immigrants and their families. They called for inclusion of diverse Jewish voices in state initiatives, stronger protections for Israeli-American businesses, and recognition that anti-Zionist rhetoric often becomes direct harassment of Jews. The chair said the testimony and suggested edits would be incorporated into the draft report, and the meeting ended with plans for further revisions before the final vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• The answer is education.
• </c><01:21:44.640><c> So,</c> spend time here in this state. So, spend time here in this state.
• </c> higher than our primary family home. higher than our primary family home.
• </c> education is the key? education is the key?
• </c> allocated for state aid to education. allocated for state aid to education.

Committee: House Ways and Means

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> curriculum and so all of those Educators curriculum and so all of those Educators um<00:13:51.240
• He is an education issue specialist with Education Minnesota.
• Killian, and on behalf of the 86,000 educators, both licensed and unlicensed, of Education Minnesota,
• </c> requirements and so with Education requirements and so with Education Minnesota<01:03:55.319><c>
• She is the teacher education specialist for the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board,

Committee: Senate Education Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• At the higher education, it's not included in the General Appropriations Act.
• So, this is item number 2, the Educational Retirement Board.
• educational thing.
• and special education process generally.
• the state, and they continue working with the Legislative Education Study Committee, the Public Education

Transcript Highlights:

• Kenzie reported that Free Period was able to spend the $500,000 in 20,000...
• in this particular supplemental spending document.
• The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education offers grant programs.
• The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education offer grant programs.
• education.

Summary: The Senate considered a supplemental appropriations bill and a series of amendments focused on education, health, transportation, tax administration, and oversight. Senator Kennedy spoke in support of increasing funding for DTA caseworkers to improve SNAP access and reduce delays, but then withdrew the amendment by unanimous consent. Senator O’Connor’s amendment adding $500,000 for Free Period to provide free menstrual products in public schools was adopted, as was Senator Miranda’s $1 million METCO transportation and student support amendment. Senator Collins briefly proposed extending paid family and medical leave and unemployment insurance coverage to graduate student workers, but withdrew that amendment for later discussion. Several amendments were debated and either adopted or rejected. Senator Tarr’s proposal to create oversight of the Group Insurance Commission and fund an Inspector General review was defeated after opposition argued existing oversight was sufficient. Tarr also offered amendments on MBTA deficiency fund withdrawals and on requiring 90 days’ notice before state tax code decoupling changes; both were rejected after standing votes. Senator Driscoll’s amendment for Randolph Public Schools restroom improvements was adopted, while his veterans student loan forgiveness amendment was withdrawn. Additional amendments were adopted for Bridgewater Middle School water filtration, Uffum’s Corner Health Center, and NeighborHealth’s pharmacy technician training program for local high school students. A major discussion centered on school funding and enrollment declines. Senator DiDomenico withdrew an amendment that would have provided $100 million to address Chapter 70 funding losses tied to enrollment drops, but he and Senator Collins used the floor to argue that districts facing declining enrollment and rising costs need a broader state response. The Senate also adopted a new draft of the supplemental budget and then passed the bill to be engrossed by a roll call vote, with 35 members in the affirmative and 4 in the negative. The chamber then adjourned to meet again Monday, and did so in memory of Arthur H. Tobin, a former Quincy mayor, state legislator, and clerk magistrate.

Transcript Highlights:

• spend on paying claims.
• Today we have the Division of Higher Education. Its report is in your packet.
• Courtney Sallis Ford for the Department of Education, Division of Higher Education.
• Education.
• Division of Higher Education. We have 32 rules in effect.

Committee: All ALC-ADMINISTRATIVE RULES

Summary: The Administrative Rules Subcommittee of the Arkansas Legislative Council reviewed several agency rules and requests. It approved without objection an Insurance Department amendment implementing Act 261’s holding company system requirements, two State Board of Election Commissioners rules on poll watchers/provisional voting and certified election monitors, and a Treasurer of State rule removing DEI-related membership requirements to comply with Act 938. The committee also held over for a month a Department of Education request related to excluding a rule from reporting requirements so it could be discussed further with the Department of Commerce. A major portion of the meeting focused on the Department of Human Services’ request to be excluded from rulemaking for Acts 567, 568, 967, and 1025. DHS said federal CMS guidance created comparability and other issues for the Medicaid-related dental and diagnostic lab provisions, making it difficult to implement the acts as written by their effective dates. DHS outlined possible paths, including broader adult dental coverage, waivers, or splitting the dental rate increase from the special-needs cap increase. The Arkansas State Dental Association disputed DHS’s approach, arguing Act 1025 is workable, that the pediatric rate increase should move forward separately, and that DHS should continue pursuing the law rather than stop rulemaking. Committee members questioned both sides extensively about CMS correspondence, waiver timelines, fiscal impact, and whether the acts could be severed. After testimony from DHS, the Dental Association, and a public commenter, the committee adopted a motion not to exclude DHS from reporting requirements for Acts 567, 568, 967, and 1025, meaning DHS must continue the normal rulemaking/reporting process. The committee then accepted the Division of Higher Education’s report, which recommended repealing three of its 32 rules and keeping the remaining 29 in effect. It also received routine written updates on older and newer rulemaking items and filed the monthly updates without further action.

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, also, people report higher rates?
• </c> students have a greater chance to spend students have a greater chance to spend more<01:30:57.920
• . education. education.
• ><c> provided</c><01:32:56.080><c> these</c> educators deserve to be provided these educators deserve
• </c><01:37:09.679><c> are</c> tier three and tier 4 educators are tier three and tier 4 educators are

Committee: Senate Education Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• The Office of Health Care Affordability has set a spending target.
• Our spend in primary care is very, very low.
• Educate and train those who serve Medi-Cal members.
• income at higher rates.
• And so as that's changing, we have higher pressures fiscally, and so care...

Committee: House Health

Transcript Highlights:

• This bill also recognizes how scientific research at our public higher education institutions drives
• We invest $100 million to immediate support for our public higher education.
• Homes and higher prices.
• ; the... problem here is not so much that we aren't spending.
• The bigger part of the story doesn't come from more spending.

Transcript Highlights:

• In 2023, it went up even higher.
• Right now, there's nothing mandated as far as education or Canadian education or education in any way
• So I believe that the education aspect is there.
• I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this slide.
• If you're interested, I would spend some time on it.

Committee: Joint Health Care Committee

Summary: The committee first approved the minutes and then heard a detailed annual presentation from Dr. Thomas Arnold, chair of the Maternal Mortality Review Committee, on maternal mortality trends and review findings. He explained the committee’s structure, the de-identified review process, and the distinction between pregnancy-associated and pregnancy-related deaths. He said national maternal mortality has declined from its 2021 peak, but mental health conditions, substance use, overdose, suicide, cardiovascular disease, hemorrhage, infection, and embolism remain major causes. He emphasized that many deaths are preventable, with especially high rates among non-Hispanic Black women and in the American Indian/Alaska Native population, and noted that a large share of deaths occur after 42 days postpartum. Committee members asked about suicide, domestic abuse, pregnancy testing in unexplained deaths, and the role of home births and midwife training. Dr. Arnold said the committee is adding a caseworker, exploring post-mortem pregnancy testing in suspicious cases, and working with coroners and forensic officials; he also said home births and untrained midwifery pose safety concerns and that better public education and facility-based care are important. The committee then heard from State Fire Marshal Dr. Matt Clark on cigarette ignition propensity standards and fire prevention. He recommended updating North Dakota’s cigarette ignition legislation to the current national standard and also considering legislation requiring fast-breakaway oxygen tubing, citing fatal fires involving smoking around home oxygen. He explained that his office verifies manufacturer testing and maintains certification for cigarettes sold in the state, but does not itself conduct the testing. Members asked about implementation, cost, and whether the standards apply in tribal communities; Clark said he would follow up with cost information and additional details, and that he had not seen evidence of a major issue on tribal lands but would look further. Christine Greff of the Department of Health and Human Services presented the North Dakota Stroke System of Care report. She described the statewide network of two comprehensive stroke centers, four primary stroke centers, and 30 acute stroke-ready hospitals, along with the stroke registry and quality-improvement efforts. She reported that most strokes are ischemic, that the median stroke patient age is 71.5, and that common risk factors include hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity, and diabetes. She highlighted improvements in door-to-CT, thrombolytic treatment times, dysphagia screening, EMS pre-notification, and interfacility transfer performance, and said new priorities include hemorrhagic stroke quality measures and standardized EMS stroke screening tools. Members asked about the VA hospital’s participation, and Greff said she would pursue outreach. After a break, the committee heard testimony from Taha Khan of Vertex Pharmaceuticals as part of the prior authorization study, focused on non-opioid pain treatment. He argued that prior authorization can delay access to acute pain treatment and may push patients toward opioids, especially in the critical 24- to 72-hour post-discharge window. He cited data showing that even short opioid exposure can increase the risk of long-term use and said prior authorization is often a barrier for physicians and patients. Khan recommended open access with a quantity limit rather than prior authorization, suggesting a 14-day limit supported by the product’s data and an episode-of-care approach. Members asked about dental use, payer discussions, and cost; he said the product’s wholesale acquisition cost is about $16.10 per tablet, with patient assistance available, and that he would follow up on payer and comparison-cost questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> spending flat. spending flat.
• done to identify spending restraint and savings,<04:31:18.640><c> education.
• Are we going to fix the debacle that is the higher education system?
• </c><04:34:52.799><c> Are</c><04:34:52.959><c> we</c> the higher education system?
• Are we the higher education system?

Transcript Highlights:

• I appreciate this opportunity to partner with my legislative colleagues in the higher education policy
• Chair Mike Fong, Assembly Higher Education Committee, do you want to make any introductory remarks?
• post-secondary higher education in California.
• Policy changes to Federal Student Aid, accountability rules, and accreditation may reshape higher education
• Education Committee, in the period, in the most aggressive consultant to the Assembly Higher Education

Transcript Highlights:

• the allotment as you can see the number that we're spending is about 500 half a billion that we were
• Just to make sure that they will have to spend this money on school.
• However, the most recent spending report.
• Educators number one priority is ensure school safety and well-being.
• But what what was the thinking there regarding 15 versus a higher amount?

Bills: SB260 , SB263 , SB293 , SJR18

Committee: Senate Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• We educate 45% of all undergraduates in Kentucky.
• We educate 45% of all undergraduates in Kentucky.
• U education entity we educate educate educate 45%<00:03:13.640><c> of</c><00:03:13.920><c> all</c><00
• </c><00:04:13.879><c> more</c> Mr chair we would like to spend more Mr chair we would like to spend more
• </c><00:05:18.479><c> education</c> not just for kctcs but higher education not just for kctcs but higher

Summary: The House Budget Review Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education met for its first meeting and heard an update from KCTCS President Dr. Ryan Corral. He opened with a brief report on flood impacts across the state, noting damage at Big Sandy and Hazard, support for displaced faculty and staff, emergency student aid, and the use of campuses as shelters and Red Cross sites. He then outlined KCTCS’s role as the state’s largest postsecondary system, serving about 107,000 students across 16 colleges and 70 campuses, with strong enrollment growth, major dual credit and GED operations, and a large workforce-training mission. Corral emphasized student support needs such as food, housing, and mental health services, and said KCTCS wants to expand work with incarcerated populations and recovery communities. Corral also described system changes focused on compliance, stability, leadership development, property disposal, and curriculum review. He said KCTCS has addressed prior audit findings, is conducting additional audits, has sold or is selling several buildings, and has removed 400 underutilized credentials to better align programs with employer needs. He highlighted transfer agreements with the University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University, and said KCTCS is working to align training with employers and local governments. He also discussed the system’s response to House Bill 6 and the $90 million appropriated for an efficient operations and innovation plan, including three proposed capital projects: a Somerset Community College facility for diesel, automotive, welding, HVAC, CAD, and 3D printing; replacement of an outdated Louisville building; and a South Central/Glasgow allied health facility to expand nursing and related programs. In response to questions, Corral said the Blue Oval SK training building in Glendale is open and operational, though workforce demand there has been slower than initially expected, and that KCTCS is working with the company and state officials to cover operating costs. Members praised KCTCS’s workforce role and flexibility in meeting employer needs statewide. Representative Moll also commented on the system’s progress and importance to Kentucky’s workforce development. No votes were taken, and the meeting ended with adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> real priority was to stress education real priority was to stress education and<00:03:17.720><c>
• </c> to gain their compliance and to educate to gain their compliance and to educate and<00:03:27.560
• This individual shoppers higher prices.
• </c><00:56:42.240><c> 10</c> regulating it, and then we spend 10 regulating it, and then we spend 10
• That's why we and paying higher prices.

Bills: HF3794 , HF3408

Committee: House Commerce Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• Thank you for your support in increasing special education funding last session.
• I'm speaking against the governor's proposed cuts to higher education and asking you to seriously consider
• progressive revenue to fund higher education instead of deeper cuts in the supplemental budget.
• education instead of deeper cuts in the supplemental budget.
• We understand that you have a difficult budget, but higher education and research universities are facing

Summary: The House Appropriations Committee continued its public hearing on House Bill 2289, the fiscal biennial supplemental operating budget appropriations bill. The chair and vice chair explained the hearing process, limited testimony to one minute per person, and then heard extensive public comment from a wide range of advocates, local officials, service providers, and residents. No committee vote was taken during the hearing. Much of the testimony focused on opposition to proposed budget shifts involving Climate Commitment Act revenue, especially the proposed diversion of $569 million to other uses, including the Working Families Tax Credit. Environmental, public health, and local government witnesses argued those funds should remain dedicated to climate pollution reduction, wildfire resilience, clean transportation, natural climate solutions, and affordability programs. Several speakers also urged full funding for wildfire response and forest health, including the HB 1168 commitment, and opposed transfers from the Public Works Assistance Account. Other major topics included Medicaid and long-term care rates, with nursing home and assisted living providers warning that freezing or delaying rate rebasing would worsen staffing shortages and threaten access to care. Public health and health care advocates opposed cuts to foundational public health services, Apple Health expansion, and pharmacy benefit changes, while oral health advocates asked to preserve Medicaid dental funding and support Dentist Link. Testimony also supported or opposed funding for K-12 programs such as special education, the Ninth Grade Success Initiative, and homeless student stability; early learning and child care subsidies; disability services; public defense; housing and homelessness prevention; food assistance; higher education; and immigrant legal services. The committee concluded the hearing and adjourned after public testimony ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• In higher education, the TOPS Fund, based on the latest REC forecast, we had to substitute $4.4 million
• We will likely spend a great deal of this in the highway priority program.
• higher, than the FY26 expenditure limit.
• Education Deferred Maintenance Fund.
• , people in education, the sheriffs, and the sheriffs... ...people in education, the sheriffs, and district

Summary: The committee first took up the fiscal status statement, certification of the state surplus, and the five-year baseline budget. Officials from the Office of Planning and Budget and the Division of Administration said the January fiscal status statement had no changes, and the commissioner certified a surplus of $577,073,871. They also reviewed the baseline outlook, noting projected imbalances in later years driven by declining revenue, including the redirection of motor vehicle sales tax, and rising costs such as inflation and Medicaid-related expenses. The fiscal status statement was approved without objection. The governor’s executive budget was then presented as a third consecutive standstill budget, with administration officials emphasizing efficiency savings, no reduction in services, and no reduction in state workforce. They said the budget relies on prior savings efforts and incorporates agency-level cuts and reorganization, while also addressing higher costs in corrections, DCFS, and health care. Major items highlighted included funding for LA GATOR, the high-impact jobs program, DCFS modernization, corrections population and overtime needs, nursing home and managed care adjustments at LDH, and additional support for the MJ Foster Scholarship Program. Members asked about the impact of inflation, the use of federal versus state funds, the future of voucher and GATOR funding, and whether more support should go to DCFS and the Hero Fund. The committee also received the calculation of the FY27 expenditure limit, set at $20.1 billion, and the annual comprehensive financial report for FY2025, which received a clean audit opinion. Members approved a BA-7 increasing federal funds for an executive office transportation grant, approved additions to the Act 751 higher education deferred maintenance project list and a Baton Rouge Community College project combination, and approved contract amendments for CPRA with Coastal Estuary Services and Access Sciences. The committee also corrected a legislative intent item naming the New Orleans Recreational Development Foundation. Finally, the judiciary presented a weighted caseload study for district and appellate courts, explaining it as an updated tool to assess judicial workload and potential judgeship needs; members discussed its limits, the role of specialty courts and commissioners, and the need for further legislative-judicial collaboration before any changes are made.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> empowerment advancing education empowerment advancing education improving<00:56:23.440><c> physical
• </c> of the United States while I could spend of the United States while I could spend my<01:06:59.400
• </c> hr28 a bill to amend the education hr28 a bill to amend the education Amendments<02:17:46.719><c
• He's also the vice chair of the Education and Workforce Committee and chair of the Subcommittee on Higher
• I yield back. insane and educational institutions have insane and educational institutions have a<03:

Transcript Highlights:

• And again, would just urge budget authority, spending authority this year. Thank you. Thank you.
• We do have a waiting list among our higher levels of care at a few of our homes, including Yountville
• Likewise, Yountville is a little bit out of the way and might represent a higher commute as well.
• Likewise, Yountville is a little bit out of the way and might represent a higher commute as well and
• It's about educating consumers, educating contractors, and making sure that everyone's aware of the consumer