Transcript Highlights:

• CEOs have complained to me that there's a shortage of skilled labor, and that's their main problem.
• We have access to 1,200,000 students, and we can provide them with the skilled labor that they need.
• the state met with career and technical education administrators and others to let them know what skills
• We urge you to eliminate them and focus on courses that give skills.
• of things do you see happening when we don't have our teachers able to be equipped with the right skills

Summary: The committee first heard Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horn’s annual State of Education address, which focused on school safety, academic outcomes, school choice, teacher pay, and opposition to DEI/CRT in schools and teacher preparation. Horn said the department has expanded school police officers, promoted Project Momentum and tutoring, supported cell phone restrictions in classrooms, and pushed for more phonics-based reading instruction and stronger university teacher-prep programs. Members questioned him about DEI complaints, cell phone implementation, ESA oversight, school safety funding, reading proficiency, and teacher compensation; Horn said ESA spending is reviewed and recovered when inappropriate, and argued teacher raises should come directly to teachers, not through districts. No formal action was taken on his presentation. The committee then considered HB 2008, which would prohibit public school libraries from using public funds to pay dues to professional library associations. Sponsor Representative Cooper argued the bill would keep school libraries politically neutral and prevent taxpayer money from supporting ideological advocacy, while saying membership itself would still be allowed if paid privately. Opponents, including a former librarian, a school board member, and the ACLU of Arizona, said the bill would undermine professional development, local control, literacy support, and constitutional rights of association and petition. Supporters said associations promote ideological content and that free professional-development alternatives exist. After public testimony and debate, the committee voted to return HB 2008 with a do-pass recommendation.

Transcript Highlights:

• Despite those challenges, their program continues to produce highly skilled providers urgently needed
• Thousands of students have benefited from programs he helped grow, giving them the skills they need to
• AND THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS HAVE BENEFITED FROM PROGRAMS HE HELPED GROW, GIVING THEM THE SKILLS THEY NEED
• INTELLIGENCE ORGANIZATION TO BROADEN THEIR SKILLS BEYOND THEIR HOME AGENCIES.
• By giving DHS staff the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills from throughout the department, we give

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Monday, November 17, 2025, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• um for rental of for in their laborer um for rental of any<01:10:57.880><c> track</c><01:10:58.360><
• That's direct labor from the indirect and direct labor from the Turnpike system, agency indirect cost
• Which is the direct labor.
• Which is the direct labor.
• Labor has continued to increase.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee met with New Hampshire DOT Commissioner Bill Cass and Finance Director Danielle Shandra to review the agency’s FY 2026 budget. Cass gave a high-level overview of DOT’s mission, organization, funding structure, and staffing trends, noting the agency has about 650 employees across five divisions. He said the Governor’s recommended FY 2026 budget totals $95.99 million, essentially flat from FY 2025, with funding primarily from Turnpike funds, Highway funds, federal sources, and a small General Fund share for non-highway units. Members asked about how Turnpike and Highway funds are treated in state accounting, and DOT explained that while they are enterprise funds restricted to their purposes, they are considered unrestricted from the statewide perspective and are appropriated through the budget process. A major topic was staffing and budget targets. DOT said its full-time staffing level has remained relatively flat since 2014 even as vehicle miles traveled increased and vacancies rose. To meet budget targets, the department unfunded seven permanent positions and nine temporary full-time positions, and later noted additional reductions in Finance, including the elimination of two full-time positions, reduced print shop equipment purchases, and deeper cuts to overtime, temporary help, equipment, and supplies in FY 2027. DOT also explained that it shifted funding for one unmanned aerial system position from General Funds to Highway Funds, saying the change was workable because the position supports highway-related work and federal-aid-eligible activities. Members asked for clarification on the state transit operating match, and DOT explained that the Legislature had previously provided about $1.8 million annually in General Funds to help local transit agencies meet federal match requirements, but that funding was not included in this budget. DOT said that could reduce the ability to draw down some federal transit funds, though the impact may not be immediate because those funds can be used over several years. The department also described its unmanned aerial system program, saying it has been used for about five years for mapping, survey work, construction oversight, and storm damage assessment, and that it now has about five drones and two full-time positions supporting the program. DOT said it is expanding cross-training so more employees can operate drones without adding positions. No votes or formal actions were taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• I know skilled nursing facility there.
• </c><00:36:28.560><c> Um,</c> skills uh utilizing their vehicles.
• Um, skills uh utilizing their vehicles.
• Uh the skills our need a 300 yard range.
• What this means is basic English skills.

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• School districts do vary considerably in their networking knowledge and skills.
• , skills and competency standards<04:27:54.080><c> and</c><04:27:54.319><c> statute</c><04:27:55.279>
• Likewise, there are numerous CTE events such as CTE works, skills competitions, workshops, seminars,
• medical treatment and active labor law, medical treatment and active labor law, which<06:58:07.520><c
• ,</c> the majority of the committee on labor, the majority of the committee on labor, industrial,<07:

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This bill provides emergency labor and delivery training to EMS providers in rural communities.
• The bill provides emergency labor and delivery training to EMS providers in rural communities.
• Now, most labor and delivery, most laboring and delivering, happens without any type of complication,
• </c><00:16:31.680><c> and</c> labor and delivery most laboring and labor and delivery most laboring and
• I have been a nurse for nearly 30 years in high-risk labor and delivery.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:08:32.399><c> Even</c><00:08:32.640><c> for</c> reflects their skill and value.
• Even for reflects their skill and value.
• Department of Labor.
• Our two-year program included Labor.
• </c> skilled work ready massage therapists. skilled work ready massage therapists.

Bills: HF362, HF2590, HF2760, HF3444

Keywords: massage therapy, Asian bodywork therapy, massage therapist, Asian bodywork therapist, licensure, professional licensing, health occupations, Department of Health, commissioner of health, advisory council, protected title, unlicensed practice, scope of practice, consumer protection, background check, professional liability insurance, continuing education, credentialing examination, state preemption, municipal regulation

Transcript Highlights:

• A key component of this project is the project labor agreement that will govern both the construction
• It puts skilled trades to work, ensures quality jobs in the long term, and positions St.
• agreement that will is the project labor agreement that will govern<01:43:49.280><c> both</c><01:43:
• That means 2300 skilled facilities.
• 58.480><c> ensures</c><01:44:58.960><c> quality</c> skilled trades to work, ensures quality skilled trades

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Known for his skill as a southpaw and his relentless spirit, he competed against some of the best in
• “Well, under current Medicaid law, labor and delivery doesn't even fall under this.
• Well, under current Medicaid law is labor and delivery doesn't even fall under this.
• For labor and delivery, not for prenatal services. So that's the part I want to talk about.
• You know, just everything that helped him become a professional and a skill that not many of us could

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Madam Chair, members, Sarah Flock, California Federation of Labor Unions, in support.
• The motion is due pass and we refer to the Committee on Labor. Assistant, please call the roll.
• Madam Chair, members, Sarah Flock, California Federation of Labor Unions.
• Retirement. pass and re-refer to the Committee on Labor, Public Employment and Retirement.
• I'm trying to understand how all of these skills... ...trying to understand how all of these skills and

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Forced labor continues to plague supply chains and industries.
• Forced labor continues to plague supply chains and industries.
• , and child labor.
• This is a labor bill as well. Set designers to laborers. This is a labor bill as well.
• We're ...scam of this whole nonsense, is that somehow being pro-labor is pro-worker.

Summary: The Assembly met after a quorum call and first dealt with a procedural dispute over four amendments to AB 1240. The Speaker ruled the amendments out of order as not germane, and the Assembly sustained that ruling on a 49-16 vote. Members then added co-authors to several consent-calendar resolutions, including measures on the National Conference of State Legislators, Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, ALS Awareness Month, and Men’s Mental Health Month, before adopting the consent calendar. The chamber also heard guest introductions, including a welcome for Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, and took up a motion to bring AB 41 up out of file, which failed 19-48. The bulk of the meeting was floor action on a long series of bills and resolutions, many of which passed with broad bipartisan support. Measures approved included ACR 40 supporting immigrant students and FAFSA privacy; AB 917 on permanent status for certain school employees; AB 985 on anesthesia access; AB 7 and AB 42 on higher education and student services; AB 245 providing property tax relief for wildfire victims; AB 255 allowing funding for drug-free recovery housing; AB 279 updating K-12 library standards; AB 289 creating a pilot for automated speed enforcement in highway construction zones; AB 291 on an educator apprentice program; AB 327 addressing swatting; AB 340 on confidential union communications; AB 341 creating an oral health technical assistance center for people with disabilities; AB 356 on San Diego health care infrastructure; AB 410 on bot disclosure; AB 476 on copper theft enforcement; AB 477 on educator pay targets; AB 485 on stolen wages and business licensing; AB 487, the insurance committee’s technical omnibus bill; AB 573 on tobacco retail license fees; AB 598 on school mapping technology; AB 635 on mobile home law enforcement referrals; AB 651 on remote participation for incarcerated parents in dependency hearings; AB 654 on homelessness hotline assistance in Los Angeles County; AB 662 creating a South County higher education task force; AB 667 on language access in professional licensing; AB 669 limiting early denial of addiction treatment; AB 670 on naturally occurring affordable housing; AB 695 on online continuation of community college for deported students; AB 723 on disclosure for digitally altered real estate images; AB 727 placing Trevor Project information on student IDs; and AB 736, a $10 billion affordable housing bond for the June 2026 ballot, which passed on a 61-11 urgency vote after extensive debate. Debate on AB 736 was the most extensive of the day, with supporters arguing the bond would help address California’s housing crisis and give voters a chance to weigh in, while opponents criticized the state’s bond debt and past spending results. The Assembly then recessed for caucus meetings and later returned to continue the daily file, where additional measures were taken up, including AB 798 adding diapers and wipes to the emergency food bank reserve program, which passed 56-0, and AB 821 on career technical education, which was presented as bipartisan-supported as the transcript continued.

Transcript Highlights:

• Are there factors other than labor or cost of living that went into why our bids came in so much higher
• the traditional maritime industry, which gives you broader exposure to a broader workforce, more skills
• taken place that I'm sure many of you have been privy to seeing is the budgeting analysis for the labor
• taken place that I'm sure many of you have been privy to seeing is the budgeting analysis for the labor
• And we're going to be sitting down with them, understanding their organizational structure, their labor

Summary: The committee met to hear an update from Washington State Ferries on capital projects and workforce issues, beginning with a briefing on the agency’s long-term fleet and terminal needs. WSF officials described the history of underinvestment after the late 1990s, the current fleet reduction from 25 to 21 vessels, and the need to keep older boats in service while moving toward a 26-vessel long-range fleet and hybrid-electric operations. They said the agency is transitioning to a new vessel procurement strategy, with Eastern Shipbuilding selected to build up to three 160-car hybrid-electric ferries, and outlined a schedule that includes contract execution, about a year of design work, steel cutting in fall 2026, and several years of construction. Members raised concerns about the higher cost of electrified vessels, the length of the schedule, the adequacy of liquidated damages and incentives, the risks of building in Florida and transporting vessels to Washington, and whether the contract sufficiently protects the state from cost overruns and design problems. The committee also received an update on the Wenatchee conversion, which officials said is days away from entering service as the first large hybrid-electric ferry conversion. WSF explained that the conversion combined required midlife preservation work with propulsion upgrades and battery installation, and that the project took longer and cost more than originally expected because it was a prototype with significant lessons learned. Officials said the Tacoma and Puyallup conversions would follow later, but those decisions were being delayed until after the World Cup to avoid service disruptions. Members asked about the cost-effectiveness of the conversion, the expected fuel and emissions reductions, and what happens to engine crews during long conversion periods; WSF said crews were embedded in the project and that the conversions should reduce diesel use substantially once terminal charging is available. The meeting then shifted to workforce development, with Siegel consultants reviewing their 2021 and 2024 studies of ferry staffing, overtime, recruitment, and workplace culture. They said the earlier problems stemmed from seasonal staffing practices, low winter hours, limited career progression, a narrow maritime recruiting pipeline, and a culture that made retention difficult. Since then, they reported major improvements: staffing has increased from about 1,500 to 1,900, turnover has fallen, captain and engineer shortages have eased, and recruitment has broadened beyond the traditional maritime pool, including more women and other underrepresented workers. They credited new programs such as guaranteed hours, paid pilotage, AB-to-mate pathways, and the “Turning of the Tide” culture campaign, while noting remaining issues with communication, HR access, accountability, and quality of life. Members generally acknowledged the progress but asked whether staffing levels are now sufficient and how interchangeable crews are across vessels and routes. Finally, terminal engineering staff began a presentation on capital terminal work, starting with the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal. They described the terminal’s age, low elevation, vulnerability to sea level rise and earthquakes, and the need for replacement piles, beams, and improved vehicle circulation. The agency said it has completed a planning and environmental linkage study, is moving into NEPA/state environmental review, and has been working with the community to balance the needs of Southworth and Vashon riders with neighborhood concerns in Fauntleroy. The preferred alternative is a larger offshore dock footprint that would improve capacity and reliability while reducing impacts to eelgrass habitat. The meeting ended before the terminal discussion was complete.

Transcript Highlights:

• Yes, we indeed care about the American people and the fruits of their labor.
• </c> people and the fruits of their labor. people and the fruits of their labor.
• More than 5.5 fruits of their labor.
• The largest labor union in the U.S., the AFL-CIO, and consumer advocates like Americans for Financial
• A wide variety of labor, consumer, and civil rights groups are strongly opposed to this bill.

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:24:04.440><c> USA</c> the drums participates in skilled USA the drums participates in skilled
• under the love cheap foreign labor under the current<04:25:59.720><c> regime</c><04:26:00.439><c> and
• He banned most visa applicants and most skilled temporary workers, deeming them an economic threat.
• </c><04:28:55.960><c> temporary</c> applicants and most skilled temporary applicants and most skilled
• </c> other any other um labor other any other um labor situation<07:35:58.318><c> this</c><07:35:58.478

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• At the same time, employers are asking us for more skilled workers.
• new Chapter 74 programs are created strategically, only where... ...there is real student demand and labor
• My experiences at New Heights gave me the skills and tools I needed to thrive in college.
• There were no traditional grades, just a focus on skill mastery, kids helping other kids get better.
• Thank you. ...skill mastery, kids helping other kids get better.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Education held a lengthy hearing on a large slate of bills focused primarily on charter school policy and vocational technical education. Committee members opened with ground rules for testimony, including a two-minute limit, written testimony acceptance, and a live-streamed format. The committee then heard testimony on bills to expand collective bargaining rights in Horace Mann and Innovation Schools, reform charter school funding and reimbursement, allow enrollment preferences for high-need students in charter lotteries, and require BESE to consider district impacts when approving new or expanded charters. Several witnesses, including union leaders, parents, educators, and legislators, argued that charter growth has strained district budgets and that funding formulas should be reworked to better protect public schools; charter advocates and alumni countered that charter schools serve high-need students well and should not be penalized for their success. A major portion of the hearing focused on vocational technical education bills, including proposals to expand access and capacity, create a large grant program, and increase MSBA reimbursement rates for vocational school construction. Supporters described long waitlists, strong labor-market demand, and the higher cost of building and maintaining vocational schools, while municipal officials emphasized the tax burden on local communities. The committee also heard testimony on charter school reimbursement bills that would extend the state’s reimbursement schedule, with witnesses from districts such as Boston, Worcester, Fall River, and New Bedford describing large net losses to charter tuition and arguing for longer reimbursement periods and structural reform. The committee took no final votes during the hearing. In one instance, the chair said a bill would be held open until a missing senator could testify. Members asked several detailed questions about charter admissions lotteries, special education placements, funding formulas, and the practical effects of proposed charter caps and reimbursement changes. The hearing remained informational, with witnesses and committee members presenting sharply different views on whether the bills would improve equity and opportunity or harm existing public school systems.

Transcript Highlights:

• And reading skills, strong reading skills, are the gateway to academic success, lifelong confidence,
• A foundational skill that will lead to lifelong learning. Thank you, Assemblymember Moritsuchi.
• adult readers. as I talk about reading, but again, make no mistake, teaching reading is not an easy skill
• At times, $5 to $10 a day for grueling, back-breaking labor.
• But also, again, when these individuals leave prison we need to make sure that they have this skill set

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• it certainly impacts and positively affects our K-12 students as we provide our students with the skills
• As we provide our students with the skills and the opportunities they need to have successful outcomes
• We have to continue to provide those teachers with the right knowledge, skills, abilities.
• Knowledge, skills, abilities.
• Labor costs go up with that demand.

Summary: The subcommittee first heard an overview from Department of Education Chancellor Paul Burns on Florida’s K-12 governance structure and major divisions, including early learning, public schools, safe schools, school choice, and accountability. He highlighted school readiness and VPK, teacher preparation and licensure, school safety functions, scholarship and virtual/home education programs, and FAST progress monitoring. Burns also cited statewide gains such as higher mid-year reading performance, a record graduation rate of 89.7%, and record CTE enrollment, while members questioned the meaning of Florida’s “number one” education rankings, teacher pay, post-COVID learning loss, vacancies, and chronic absenteeism. St. Lucie County Superintendent John Prince then described the scale and responsibilities of a mid-sized district, emphasizing student safety, transportation, meals, hurricane shelter operations, career and technical education, teacher recruitment and retention, progress monitoring, remediation, and mental health supports. Members asked about school shelter construction standards, remediation funding, late school start times, attendance, and concordance scores; Prince argued for more flexibility for CTE pathways and noted that local districts use a mix of state and federal funds to support remediation and staffing. The committee then moved to an early warning systems panel. Burns explained that Florida law requires districts to use attendance, behavior/suspensions, course performance, FAST results, and other academic indicators to identify students needing support, with districts and families developing intervention plans. Superintendents from Putnam, St. Johns, and St. Lucie counties said chronic absenteeism is tied to achievement and NAEP decline, but causes vary by district, including poverty, transportation, daycare, family instability, travel, and student athletics. They described MTSS, PBIS, home visits, attendance letters, and community partnerships as responses. Members also discussed VPK access, full-day VPK funding, excused versus unexcused absences, and the need for earlier intervention in pre-K and K-2. Finally, Vice Chancellor Darren Norris outlined Florida’s post-Parkland school safety measures, including armed school officers, anonymous reporting, behavioral threat assessment teams, mental health training, panic alert systems, emergency drills, active assailant response policies, and firearm detection canines. Superintendents said compliance is costly and often requires shifting local funds, but they praised state grants for mental health, hardening, and mapping. They noted ongoing challenges with new mandates, capital costs, manual reporting burdens, and the need to balance safety requirements with classroom resources.

Transcript Highlights:

• Elmer Lazzardo, with the California Federation of Labor Unions, in support. Thank you.
• Alma Lazzardo, with the California Federation of Labor Unions, in support. Thank you.
• And why shouldn't these workers get skilled training?
• And if this were the Labor Committee or another committee, perhaps I’d raise it there.
• Elman Lassardi, on behalf of the California Federation of Labor Unions, in support.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><01:38:19.679><c> earlier</c> advised that with my math skills earlier advised that with my math
• skills earlier this<01:38:20.320><c> morning,</c><01:38:20.560><c> I</c><01:38:20.800><c> probably</c
• There's a lot of labor organizations.
• both parties are eager discourse skills both parties are eager to<03:09:59.760><c> engage</c><03:10:
• Labor. Labor. &gt;&gt; Thank<03:58:02.560><c> you,</c><03:58:02.800><c> Mr.

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• take maybe six to 12 months more for somebody to complete all of that coursework and have the added skill
• skills.
• we're asking here, and we're so grateful for the Respiratory Care Board, is creating a pathway of skilled
• we're asking here, and we're so grateful for the Respiratory Care Board, is creating a pathway of skilled
• are over 8,500 interior designers practicing, and that's from statistics that we've pulled from the Labor

Summary: The joint sunset oversight hearing reviewed five California regulatory entities: the Respiratory Care Board, the California Council for Interior Design Certification, the Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology, and Hearing Aid Dispensers Board, the Board of Occupational Therapy, and the Board of Naturopathic Medicine. Each agency described its licensing, enforcement, modernization, and consumer-protection work since the last review, and committee members focused heavily on workforce access, public safety, transparency, and fee authority. For the Respiratory Care Board, the main issues were a possible move from an associate’s degree to a bachelor’s degree for licensure, fee structure changes, and ongoing work on LVNs performing respiratory tasks. Board representatives said the degree proposal was intended to strengthen competency and could be phased in without harming access, but several public commenters—especially respiratory therapists and families of medically fragile children—argued it would worsen shortages, particularly in rural and low-income areas. Other stakeholders supported clarifying LVN authority in congregate living health facilities, while the California Medical Association flagged the proposed Advanced Practice Respiratory Therapist classification as having limited current workforce impact. The interior design segment drew the most debate. CCIDC leaders defended the current voluntary certification/title-act model, saying it establishes competency, has produced minimal complaints, and that licensure would unnecessarily disrupt the workforce and create barriers without demonstrated public harm. Committee members questioned the lack of state-style enforcement authority, transparency, and Bagley-Keene compliance, and some public commenters criticized the private structure and inconsistent plan acceptance in local jurisdictions. Supporters of the current system said the certification and commercial designation help educate building officials and allow qualified designers to work safely, while opponents argued licensure would provide clearer accountability and reduce confusion. The speech-language pathology, audiology, and hearing aid dispensers board reported major modernization gains, including online licensure processing, faster turnaround times, and new continuing education audits and advertising rules. The board supported creating a licensed audiology assistant category to improve access to care, and public commenters generally backed the board while urging continued modernization. The occupational therapy board described steady growth, improved enforcement and licensing performance, and requested additional fee authority to address rising costs; the main public comment supported the sunset extension and a reduction in advanced practice hand therapy training hours. The naturopathic medicine board emphasized consumer protection, enforcement against unlicensed practice, and the need to clarify statutes; it said most licensed naturopathic doctors practice in underserved areas and welcomed legislative collaboration on scope and enforcement issues.