Transcript Highlights:

• >> Again, we're going into the details of the market test that was completed.
• >> Cost was one of the factors of the market test.
• Uh, was there a KCNA board meeting in which this market test was considered?
• market test. market test.
• <00:56:05.360> was in which this market test was in which this market test was considered?

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00:00 Report of KCNA Board Meeting 00:00:09 KCNA Transition to COT 00:35:55 KCNA Request for Proposals 00:42:00 Kentucky Wired Operations Company 00:42:30, 958, all

Summary: The Information Technology Oversight Committee met, approved the January 12, 2026 minutes, and then heard testimony from KCNA Chair David Couch, KCNA Director Jim Barnhart, and KCNA General Counsel Adam Adkins about the ongoing dispute involving KCNA, Excelacom, and the implementation of House Bill 314. Couch said the board and vendor had recently shown some willingness to work toward a settlement, and he emphasized the importance of KCNA’s broadband service to K-12 schools, noting that litigation had already cost about $1.4 million and could cost another $1.4 million if it continued. He also said the board had identified five immediate goals, including reconnecting 38 K-12 sites, de-escalating disputes, better understanding KCNA finances, protecting the state’s bonding rating, and examining whether duplicate networking hardware could be consolidated. A major portion of the discussion focused on whether House Bill 314 changed KCNA’s authority and how much control the Finance and Administration Cabinet and KCNA’s legal counsel have over operations and contracts. Senator Williams argued that the board now has authority to set policy, implement policy, and approve budgets, and questioned why the cabinet appeared to be exercising operational control. Adkins responded that HB 314 changed the reporting chain from the general government cabinet to the finance cabinet but did not alter the board’s authority, and said budget work on the Ice Miller contract predated HB 314. Couch and other members disputed that interpretation, saying the board had not been properly informed about a recent extension or increase in legal spending and that the board’s directives were not being followed. Representative Hodgson asked why the board could not terminate a contractor if it was not carrying out the board’s wishes, and Adkins replied that Ice Miller was not a party to the board’s contract and that the Finance and Administration Cabinet signs such agreements. The exchange ended with committee members and KCNA representatives agreeing to disagree on the meaning of the statute and the extent of board authority. No formal action was taken beyond approving the minutes and receiving testimony.

Transcript Highlights:

• to way too much testing in our schools.
• Because it doesn't matter what your test score is, if you don't have the grit, you're not going to be
• scores are where making sure their test scores are where they<00:42:41.160> need<00:42:41.360
• Students are having the a test score.
• The state accountability system is test The state accountability system is test scores,<00:43:20.000

Keywords: 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• quantitative information that test quantitative information that test scores<00:40:51.920> have
• We see increased test scores.
• We see increased test scores.
• We see increased test scores.
• We see increased test scores.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The committee first heard Senate Bill 2, sponsored by Senator Julie Rocky Adams, which would prohibit school administrators from receiving a percentage pay increase greater than the average percentage increase given to classroom teachers in the same district. Supporters said the bill is intended to keep teacher pay from falling behind, promote fairness and transparency, and preserve local control through existing waiver options. Senators Thomas, Higdon, Givens, Neal, Williams, and others generally supported the bill, while Senator Meredith raised concerns about unintended consequences for rural districts and the ability to retain principals and other talent quickly enough through the waiver process. The sponsor and others responded that the waiver process is standardized and expedited, and that normal raises would not be affected. SB 2 was adopted unanimously with favorable expression. The committee then took up Senate Bill 4 on school leadership, with a committee substitute changing a reference from the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce to the Kentucky Chamber Foundation. Senator West explained that the bill is designed to create a coordinated five-year principal leadership pipeline, based on research suggesting that school leadership is a major factor in teacher retention and school success. The first two years would be KDE-run foundational training and mentorship, followed by a gap year, then a public-private partnership year with the Chamber/Truist program, and finally a fifth year of advanced training through approved providers such as Western Kentucky University or KASA. West said the goal is to extend principals’ tenure and improve leadership quality statewide. Ashley Watts of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce testified that the Chamber Foundation has run the Leadership Institute for School Principals since 2011, sending 641 principals from 112 counties through the program at a business-funded cost of more than $4.4 million. She said the program has reached about 3 million students and produces measurable school improvement. Henderson County Superintendent Bob Lawson said the program has been valuable in his district and emphasized the heavy workload and leadership demands placed on principals. The discussion continued with testimony about the importance of principal leadership and the need to invest in it, but no final vote on SB 4 was reached in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• we have right now, we are shifting that from $130,000 for an individual and $195,000 on the asset test
• revenue solutions, which delay and mitigate some of the most severe cuts, including Medi-Cal asset tests
• We look forward to critical steps to address. ...including Medi-Cal asset tests, dental, and IHSS.
• Also appreciate that the reduction of the Medi-Cal asset test to such an unrealistically low level was
• Perhaps an exploration of increasing the asset test by using the inflation rate might be a way to avoid

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Did you test these ideas with jurisdictions? Yes, absolutely.
• And that would have to be crafted carefully, again, to meet the three-part test.
• And that would have to be crafted carefully, again, to meet the three-part test.
• We want to test with tubes to see how that compares to Street Vision.
• What is test with tubes? What is test with tubes? Test with tubes.

Keywords: 904, all

Transcript Highlights:

• samples. are extracted in our testing facility immediately after they race.
• Pursuant to our rules, if they meet the criteria, we can call that horse into our testing facility to
• So when you're tested after the race, your system's going to be clear of them, but you're reaping the
• That's what out of competition testing is, and that's why we do out of competition testing—to catch those
• Then we have to have a regulatory vet in the testing facility to extract the official... samples that

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The driver beat his drug test.
• The driver was never road tested by the trucking company. He'd never been given a road test, even.
• The company never drug tested the driver.
• But again, his employer failed to test him.
• There was no testing. There was no training. There was no vetting.

Bills: SB39, SB2129, SB2141, SB2246, SB2323, SB2439, SB2722, SB 39

Keywords: commercial motor vehicle, truck liability, motor carrier, trucking, civil liability, respondeat superior, negligent entrustment, negligent maintenance, negligent loading, negligent repair, bifurcated trial, exemplary damages, punitive damages, personal injury, collision, employer liability, vicarious liability, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, Texas tort reform, commercial truck accident

Transcript Highlights:

• They test boundaries. They social norms. They test boundaries.
• that led to yet another delay, testing. that led to yet another delay, testing.
• > through<02:00:45.199> an additional testing company through an additional testing company
• That testing confirmed complete panel.
• Even testing, reports, and negotiations.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So they have um either they're testing.
• And one of the projects I did was testing plants with salinity levels and testing salt on it because
• So, thank you. and testing salt on it because we live and testing salt on it because we live on<01:15
• Um, so there is the test and that's the criteria.
• <02:03:52.400> multiple failing around certain tests multiple failing around certain tests

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The joint Education and Higher Education committees met on February 10, 2026, first hearing HB 1676, which would create an AI and education task force, require documentation from AI vendors before procurement or use, and appropriate funds. The Department of Education, Public Charter School Commission, and University of Hawaii all supported the bill’s intent and described existing AI literacy efforts, teacher training, guidance for students and staff, and privacy/monitoring safeguards. DOE said it had already convened an AI task force, produced a report, trained over 10,000 educators, and embedded AI into computer science and broader curricular guidance. Members questioned DOE about student privacy, harmful content monitoring, personal devices, cell phone policy, teacher training, and whether AI literacy should extend beyond computer science into all subjects and across rural schools. After discussion, the chair announced HB 1676 would be deferred to Friday, February 13, and that a HD1 draft would be prepared. The chair said the committee would revisit the task force composition and procurement standards, with possible elimination of the procurement section, and circulate the revised draft before the next hearing. The committee then recessed and later reconvened for HB 1811, a student loan repayment program for educators. Testimony from the Department of Education, Public Charter School Commission, University of Hawaii, Hawaii Teacher Standards Board, HSTA, and the Democratic Party of Hawaii Education Caucus was generally supportive, with HSTA and the Teacher Standards Board emphasizing teacher recruitment and retention, student loan burden, and the need to address the teacher shortage. In decision-making on HB 1811, the committees adopted the chair’s recommendation to pass the bill with amendments. The main amendment collapsed the repayment structure into a single disbursement of up to $25,000 after five years of service, with technical/non-substantive changes and a corrected effective date. Both the Education and Higher Education committees voted unanimously in favor. Later in the meeting, the Education Committee began hearing HB 1561 on student meals, which drew broad support from the Public Charter School Commission, Department of Health, HSTA, Hawaii Appleseed, Hawaii Children’s Action Network, and many individuals. Appleseed requested amendments to ensure charter schools are treated the same as other public schools if eligibility expands and to address reimbursement issues for schools already participating in the federal Community Eligibility Provision; members discussed those concerns but no action was taken in the portion of the transcript provided. The committee then moved on to HB 779, on expanding student meal coverage, where DOE supported the intent but said it could not support the bill in its current form because of fiscal constraints.

Transcript Highlights:

• As you look at our test scores, they've been consistently high performing.
• And because Gaton's test agencies.
• test as well. well. well.
• ,<01:42:53.600> suturing and testing model bridges, suturing and testing model bridges, suturing
• At the end of the day, we're not just preparing kids for tests or even for college.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The meeting focused on Kentucky school choice and innovation, with discussion of the state constitution’s “common schools” requirement and how that has been interpreted alongside newer education models. Chairman Tipton described model laboratory schools, Gatton and Craft Academies, magnet and virtual programs, and said these options show that Kentucky has long expanded opportunity through innovation. He then turned the discussion to Senate Bill 207, which he said was designed to support schools of innovation. Senator Steve West reviewed the history of Kentucky charter schools and explained that SB 207 was modeled on a South Carolina approach. He said the bill allows a local school board to contract with a third-party entity to manage an existing school, seek waivers from certain state rules, and receive SEEK funding while also allowing outside private investment. He emphasized that the district initiates the process, that the school remains public, and that the bill includes accountability through a time-limited contract that can be ended if the school is not performing. Members asked about the difference between SB 207 and the earlier charter school law, whether schools could cherry-pick students, and whether teachers would remain district employees. West and Tipton said the new model is tied to an existing school rather than a new charter, cannot cherry-pick students, and keeps teachers as district employees. Representative Brown raised concerns that charters and exceptions could leave some children out, especially lower-income students, while West responded that the proposal is intended to expand choice for families who may not otherwise have it and cited examples from other states where similar models improved low-performing schools. No vote or formal action was taken during the discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• In an Ohio study reported recently, 44% of fatalities were testing positive for THC.
• and 427 testing positive for marijuana.
• The problem with testing marijuana is THC remains detectable long after impairment has ended.
• So you can test somebody following an accident.
• but testing for the presence of marijuana does not equate to legal impairment.

Transcript Highlights:

• It was also home to some of the most distinctive testing facilities in the country, including the wall
• of wind, which replicates up to Category 5 hurricane force winds to test them against buildings, power
• The second phase, our wind way facility models and test storm surge and its impacts.
• We have an AI tutor, which is currently in beta testing for the students where we're tweaking it to so
• We are to pilot test their stuff.

Transcript Highlights:

• Just curious, like, are there specific settings or requirements, especially in the testing universe,
• Just curious, like, are there specific settings or requirements, especially in the testing universe,
• items that I think is critical, as Senator Burgess brought up, is should we go backwards to paper tests
• areas: one being additive and advanced manufacturing, and then aerodynamic, high-speed aerodynamic testing
• and other types of testing that will qualify products. ...and systems for use in the aerospace, maritime

Summary: The Senate Committee on Education Pre-K through 12 met to hear a panel discussion on artificial intelligence in K-12 education. Dr. Maya Israel of the University of Florida gave an overview of AI literacy, the benefits of AI for personalized learning and teacher support, and the risks involving data privacy, overreliance, hallucinations, and misuse. She described the Florida K-12 AI Task Force, which published statewide guidance in March and is now providing professional development, case studies, surveys, and resources for teachers and families. She also noted that teacher preparation programs and microcredentials are being developed, but there is not yet a statewide baseline standard for teacher AI training. Superintendents Van Ayers of Hillsborough County and Kevin Hendrick of Pinellas County described district policies and implementation efforts. Hillsborough adopted an AI governance policy, created an implementation guide, and set rules barring generative AI use for students in pre-K through 7th grade while allowing limited, teacher-approved use for older students with district-vetted tools. Pinellas emphasized digital responsibility, parent transparency, data-use agreements, and a governance process for approving tools. Both districts said AI is being used for lesson planning, tutoring, reading-level adjustments, scheduling, and other administrative tasks, but they do not yet have reliable evidence that AI is improving academic performance. They also discussed teacher training, stipends, and certification efforts, including partnerships with universities and vendors such as Microsoft, Google, Magic School, and Gemini. Drew Allen of FSU Inspire offered an industry-focused perspective, arguing that AI is not new but that education must adapt more quickly to industry needs. He described Inspire’s workforce and research mission, its AI and robotics training for teachers, and the need to build teacher comfort and confidence through incentives and applied training. Committee members raised concerns about student dependence on AI, academic integrity, mental health, moral decision-making, data privacy, and whether schools should return to more paper-based testing. The panel generally agreed that AI should be used with strong guardrails, human oversight, and a balance between technology use and traditional learning. No legislation was considered, and the meeting ended with a motion to adjourn, which was adopted without objection.

Transcript Highlights:

• , in order for an owner to be able to take down a fence, the release site must not have a positive test
• , in order for an owner to be able to take down a fence, the release site must not have a positive test
• Members, for testing, as I said, three things here.
• For testing to be conducted under the 95% confidence interval, it ties the requirement to have visible
• It shortens the time period for testing from five to three years.

Summary: The Senate first adopted a motion to move the intent calendar deadline to 4 p.m. and then took up several bills by suspending the regular order of business. Senate Bill 2031, concerning removal of high fences around breeder deer release sites, passed after an amendment shortened the testing period from five years to three, tied visible identification requirements to the date Parks and Wildlife began requiring them, and made the bill effective immediately. Senate Bill 1490, a cleanup to adult charter high school funding, and Committee Substitute Senate Bill 2227, creating a process for delayed birth certificates and renamed the Charles E. Barton Act, both passed unanimously after floor amendments. Committee Substitute Senate Bill 1964, regulating artificial intelligence systems used by state agencies, also passed unanimously after the author described guardrails for high-risk AI and disclosure requirements. The Senate then considered Senate Bill 2877, which increases penalties for election fraud and related attempts; after debate over whether existing law already covers some conduct and whether the bill was necessary given the small number of convictions, it passed to engrossment and later final passage on a 21-10 vote. Committee Substitute Senate Bill 2658, on brackish groundwater production and study, passed after four amendments, including one giving water districts authority to stop production if monitoring shows harm to freshwater supplies or subsidence and another returning a portion of transported water revenue to districts. Committee Substitute Senate Bill 648, strengthening recording requirements for real property instruments to help prevent deed theft, also passed on a 26-4 vote. Other measures approved included Committee Substitute Senate Bill 401, making it easier for homeschool students to participate in UIL activities through local district opt-in/nearest-district participation rules; Committee Substitute Senate Bill 407, requiring health care facilities to honor conscience or religious vaccine exemptions for employees, despite extensive questioning about patient safety and immunocompromised patients; Committee Substitute Senate Bill 2117, creating a Texas Committee on Foreign Investment to review risky foreign acquisitions; Senate Bill 1718, adding the NRA annual meeting to the major events reimbursement program after a failed amendment seeking equal space for gun-control advocacy; Committee Substitute Senate Bill 1626, clarifying limits on censorship and interference with digital expression by social media platforms; and Senate Bill 2206, updating the state R&D franchise tax credit and related sales tax treatment, which passed 31-0. The chamber also debated Senate Bill 1395 on school health advisory councils. An initial amendment to restore voting seats for teachers and school employees failed, but a later amendment by Senator West added students back in an advisory, non-voting capacity. The Senate then handled routine motions, committee scheduling, first-reading referrals, and adjourned until April 29, with the session ending in memory of two constituents.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm sure it is Julian Alvarez and you're here to test file behalf of yourself and you're for the bill
• create an energy-proving ground on its Rellis campus that would provide a platform for companies to test
• It is around one test. They test them, and so it's one, basically.
• It's based on one test and often doesn't reflect the holistic evaluation. of a student and if they'll
• Is there anyone else who wishes to test spot one for against House Bill thirty one forty eight.

Bills: HB42, HB 125, HB 1233, HB2853, HB3148, HB3326, HB3701, HB4066, HB4361, HB4762, HB4909, HB4912, HB42, HB125

Keywords: higher education, funding, financial allocation, state budget, Texas A&M University, University of Houston, education funding, medical education, osteopathic medicine, healthcare workforce, Tarleton State University, industry-recognized credentials, workforce development, career opportunities, feasibility study, student fees, university funding, student union, education, UT El Paso

Transcript Highlights:

• Department of Corrections reported unauthorized fuel card purchases by an employee and did not properly test
• We tested 39 students who received scholarships and noted 56 instances in which 32 of these students
• ineligible students at Philander Smith and UALR totaled over $11,000, or 32% of the roughly $350,000 tested
• Scholarship awards tested at UAPTC revealed no exceptions.
• Additionally, we tested 147 disbursements totaling $1.91 million and noted 124 exceptions regarding processing

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• um, newborn screening, a newborn hearing requirement that when a baby's born, they have a hearing test
• So if we mandate a new test and you already performed that test, then we already know what those costs
• some of it, you know, as we've discussed here, you know, we're also looking for ways if there's a test
• advocate for, you're gonna advocate for, etc. you know, to make sure that money can be saved, that tests

Bills: HB138

Keywords: voter registration, application rejection, transparency, election integrity, state law

Transcript Highlights:

• ensure that cannabis and cannabis products are grown and manufactured in New Mexico, and that they are tested
• for, sorry I'm so nervous, that they're safely tested for patients and consumers.
• Madam Chair, on page three of the bill, it talks about the inspections, and there's laboratory testing
• members, we do have seven licensed labs in the state with eight premises that we could use to help test
• We have seven of these that specialize in testing cannabis. Thank you.

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh contrast that with a historical test Uh contrast that with a historical test year<00:24:37.279
• Cologne's comments about a forward-looking test year versus a historical test year, I agree that that's
• year versus a forward-looking test year versus a historical<00:53:12.880> test<00:53:13.119><
• I agree that historical test year.
• <02:55:21.359> those recommendations, test those recommendations, test those recommendations

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee held an informational briefing on the Public Utilities Commission’s performance-based regulation (PBR) framework and the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs’ whistleblower complaint process. Chair Jared Kohole opened the meeting, noted it was informational only with no public testimony, and explained that members would hear presentations and then have an opportunity for questions. The committee heard first from Ulupono Initiative, which provided background on why utilities are regulated, how Hawaii’s cost-of-service model and rate cases work, and why PBR was adopted to shift utility incentives away from a capital-investment bias and toward performance, efficiency, cost control, and policy goals such as renewable energy and reliability. Ulupono described Hawaii’s PBR structure as a five-year multi-year rate plan with annual revenue adjustments, a customer dividend, a Z factor for extraordinary exogenous events, and an exceptional project recovery mechanism for large projects. It also outlined performance incentive mechanisms tied to renewable portfolio standard progress, interconnection speed, reliability, and shared savings. The presentation said the current docket is evaluating a possible hybrid approach that would combine forward-looking forecasting with historical results, and Ulupono advocated for stronger incentives, arguing the current rewards are too small relative to utility revenues and should be more meaningful to better align utility behavior with legislative intent. The PUC then presented its own overview, emphasizing that the PBR docket is open and active and that the briefing was limited to the record to avoid ex parte concerns. The commission described the development of PBR in Hawaii through multiple phases beginning in 2018: an initial collaborative phase to set goals, a formal contested-case phase that produced the initial framework, later phases adding scorecards, reported metrics, and additional performance incentive mechanisms, and subsequent refinements including sunset of some mechanisms and adjustments after the August 2023 Maui wildfires. The PUC said the framework is intended to be customer-centric, administratively efficient, and protective of utility financial integrity, and that current work includes evaluating how to balance forward-looking and historical test-year approaches within the rebasing process. No votes or formal actions were taken at the briefing.

Transcript Highlights:

• She can consent to STI testing, contraception.
• Brooke and her husband, Andrew, were referred to a Boston hospital for further testing.
• But Layla's 20-week scan revealed severe heart defects that required further testing.
• EEGs, MRIs, and dozens of blood tests.
• I underwent countless ultrasounds, tests, and scopes.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The committee opened by explaining hearing procedures and time limits, then heard testimony on House 2499, a bill to create a public awareness campaign on menopause and related midlife health issues. Supporters, including a nurse, the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women, and other advocates, said menopause is widely misunderstood by patients and providers, leading to delayed care, unnecessary suffering, workplace impacts, and inequities in women’s health. Several speakers shared personal experiences with symptoms being dismissed or misdiagnosed and urged the committee to advance the bill. The committee then took testimony on a package of endometriosis bills, including House 2527 and Senate 1564, calling for a task force and broader awareness efforts. Patients, a physician, and advocates described long diagnostic delays, severe pain, infertility, medical gaslighting, and limited access to specialists and effective treatment. They argued for more research, provider education, and a coordinated state strategy, and several asked for favorable reports. The chair also noted the hearing was running behind and extended time to allow more testimony. Later, the committee heard Senate 1579, which would eliminate parental consent and judicial bypass requirements for abortion access for minors under 16. Planned Parenthood representatives, physicians, legal advocates, and students argued the current law creates unnecessary delays and harms vulnerable youth, especially those in unsafe homes or foster care, while supporters said minors can already consent to other reproductive health care. A pro-life witness opposed the bill and emphasized parental involvement and support services. The committee also heard House 2403 and Senate 1560, which would create a Human Service Transportation Consumer Advisory Board; disability advocates and riders described past safety problems and current service gaps, and supported the board as a low-cost way to improve accountability, rider input, and reliability. No votes or final actions were taken in the excerpt.