Transcript Highlights:

• Mental health has been a priority of mine.
• My entire time in the legislature will continue to be a priority of mine.
• One of my other children was in school with two siblings with Duchenne.
• One of my other children was in school with two siblings with DeShane's.
• with them. ...was heart-wrenching for everyone who was in school with them.

Summary: The Health Care Budget Subcommittee met and took up four bills. First, CS/HB 633 by Rep. Koster on managing entity reporting and transparency for behavioral health services was amended to clarify reporting requirements and timing, and to address the bill’s fiscal implementation through conferencing. Members and one public speaker supported the measure, emphasizing accountability and better use of state funds. The bill was reported favorably. Next, CS/HB 531 by Rep. Hunschofsky on background screenings was amended with a strike-all that would require ACCA to create a public webpage with screening education, level-two screening standards, and a searchable catalog of positions requiring screening. Because the amendment changed the bill’s relating-to clause, the chair noted it would be temporarily postponed under House Rule 7.11D and returned to the committee later. The committee then heard HB 1089 by Rep. Booth, which adds Duchenne muscular dystrophy to the recommended newborn screening panel, subject to appropriation. A parent testified in strong support, describing the benefits of earlier diagnosis and treatment, and several members spoke in favor. The bill was reported favorably. Finally, CS/HB 907 by Rep. Anderson created the Sunshine Genetics Program, an opt-in newborn whole-genome sequencing program, and established the Florida Institute for Pediatric Rare Diseases at FSU and a Sunshine Genetics Consortium. An amendment made funding contingent on appropriations and added Nicholas Children’s Hospital and Florida International University to the consortium board. After supportive testimony and debate, the bill was also reported favorably. The meeting then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• This is designed to incentivize employers and school districts to comply with the law.
• There are over 400 public school districts in Massachusetts, including public charter schools and collaboratives
• I'm Edward Boynton, a 13-year educator currently teaching middle school math in Braintree.
• These plans were pitched to me by sales agents who had approved access to my school building but never
• disclosed the full cost of using their services and offered no... ...access to my school building but

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on several public service and retirement-related bills. Senator Kelly Dooner and Rep. O’Rourke supported a Taunton home rule petition to extend Chief Walsh’s service during the city’s transition to a new public safety facility, citing the need to manage new equipment, cameras, and 911 systems smoothly. Senator Lovely testified in favor of bills expanding retirement savings access through the SMART Plan and the CORE Plan, arguing that automatic enrollment and broader eligibility would help state, municipal, and nonprofit workers save for retirement. No questions were raised on the Taunton petition, and the hearing later moved through the remaining testimony without any votes taken during the transcript. Mary Waldron of the Old Colony Planning Council and Jeffrey Walker of the Southeast Regional Planning and Economic Development District urged support for legislation protecting regional planning agencies from being required to make retroactive payments to the State Retirement Board for past employer contributions. They warned that the costs would be unsustainable, could force layoffs or closures, and would jeopardize their ability to provide transportation, housing, economic development, and planning services. Bill Keith and Patrick Charles of PEREC testified on several retirement administration bills, including measures to ease statement-of-financial-interest filing rules, require payment for certain creditable service purchases, and clarify the definition of wages to include sick, vacation, and personal time; committee members asked questions about regional transit authorities joining retirement systems and about adding local retirement board representation to a proposed commission. Jonathan Osimo and Rob Fabino of the Massachusetts Teachers Retirement System supported bills to penalize delinquent pension reporting by employers and to create a special commission to study retirement credit purchases, saying better reporting would improve retirement processing and that a broader review could improve fairness and sustainability. Eddie Boynton of the Braintree Education Association backed the SMART Plan bill, describing how automatic enrollment and low-fee fiduciary oversight could protect educators from high-cost supplemental retirement products. Matthew Nugent testified for a bill to divest public pension funds from firearms and ammunition. After the final witnesses, the chairs asked if anyone else wished to testify, heard none, and then adjourned the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• When we set out this legislative session, there were three priorities that the school boards across the
• When we set out this legislative session, there were three priorities that the school boards across the
• school students are aware of.
• and high schools.
• and high schools.

Keywords: 909, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The furthest you could go, you said, was 0.1% reduction, non-public school aid being held harmless.
• <00:05:14.560> aid<00:05:14.880> being<00:05:15.199> held non-public school
• There were never the votes to pass any type of cuts to nonpublic school aid.
• <00:12:12.959> before have them already priority before have them already priority before
• saying about private school cuts, was it saying about private school cuts, was it in<00:12:52.959>

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:10:17.680> year $2.7 million in the next uh school year $2.7 million in the next uh school
• <00:16:11.040> to that that we are then giving priority to that that we are then giving priority
• /c><00:35:20.240> they<00:35:20.400> are school or high school when they are school or
• High school attendance requirements.
• the equivalent high school graduation. the equivalent high school graduation.

Bills: HF1323, HF3500

Keywords: undocumented, financial aid, state policy, higher education, noncitizen eligibility, funding, storm damage relief, Bemidji State University, reforestation, state appropriations, 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:41:34.599> secretary 13 hours or more as a school secretary 13 hours or more as a school
• My name is Aishik, a 15-year-old high school student at high school on Oʻahu.
• Dane Wicker, Deputy Director, DBEDT, um… school onahu I'm also going to serve as school onahu I'm also
• years that I have in high school years that I have in high school currently<00:45:44.839> when
• to high school, to be with us at this hearing.

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We work very closely with all those local businesses and we we place a high priority on designing how
• , vocational school, all the way through degree programs and basically have have a a place you can go
• We prepare some driver, education curriculum for for high schools.
• We really place priority on those that are on the master credentials list.
• Those receive first priority.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• FLORIDA'S DEVELOP IN A RESEARCH SCHOOLS ARE SPECIALIZED PUBLIC SCHOOLS AFFILIATED WITH UNIVERSITIES AND
• SCHOOLS AND PK YOUNG DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH SCHOOL THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA.
• IN K-12 FLORIDA SCHOOLS.
• SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND STATES.
• THIS PROGRAM RESERVES FOR SEATS FOR THE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AT THE MEDICAL SCHOOL.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Does it apply to private schools?
• with Seminole School District and other school districts out in that South Plains region.
• kids at the school district.
• The 21-day, if the schools are required, well, are schools required to have unvaccinated?
• When she went to medical school, and I didn't go to medical school, I almost feel like I did.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• You're out there fixing a school bus or whatever for the kiddos, and you get hurt on the job.
• We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit representing 13 counties and 42 school districts in South Texas.
• Throughout high school and college, I experienced homelessness.
• unstable housing. trying to work, attend school, and lead student organizations.
• Twenty percent did not graduate from high school.

Bills: HB875, HB1667, HB2369, HB3844, HB4415, HB4479, HB4483, HB4676, HB5118, HB5400, HB5545

Keywords: workers' compensation, municipal construction, bidding requirements, small municipalities, contracting policies, first responders, PTSD, mental health, emergency services, medical expenses, injury claims, insurance carriers, opportunity youth, workforce development, employment, education, federal funds, employment discrimination, immunity waiver, public employees

Transcript Highlights:

• And for those 12 and under, that's after-school care.
• We do by school district.
• It's different for a lot of the school districts that I've got.
• So one of their school districts, their kindergarten exemption.
• On the next slide, you see the priorities for our organization.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• we go out to visit the schools.
• 50% if they're part-time in a school. 50% if they're part-time in a school.
• in our elementary schools at all. in our elementary schools at all.
• brings to our schools.
• associated members to ensure school associated members to ensure school school<01:23:01.199>

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I asked to be part of this today because this is also a priority for one of the cities I represent in
• It’s a priority of my city as well, and in the interest of good governance and...
• <00:21:56.039> of across the state um it's a priority of across the state um it's a priority
• I am senior counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law.
• I don't want to speak too out of school, but I would guess if you'd put the four redistricting leads

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Authority, which would be for public schools.
• The executive, public schools, and higher ed.
• They are finding that there are some schools.
• Chair, from a school, from a college. So, Mr.
• The 196 on the effective out of school time programs for school-aged youth statewide.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And finally, as you may know, in order for a district or charter school to qualify for public school
• High into one consolidated school, and this is a replacement school.
• , Clayton Junior High, Eunice High School, Grants High School, Hatch Valley Middle School, Logan combined
• , Rudoso High School and Silver, two schools within Silver, Harrison Schmidt and La Plata Middle School
• , we have middle school, we have high school, um, with all sorts of different building needs.

Transcript Highlights:

• So could that be interpreted to mean I have been to school or I have not been to school versus I'm currently
• or I have not been have been to school or I have not been to<00:05:37.840> school<00:05:38.639
• So it would be school enrollment status. Um, or St. A. So it would be school enrollment status.
• <00:11:41.120> enrollment subcommittee on this school enrollment subcommittee on this school
• It's going to say comma school It's going to say comma school enrollment<00:53:22.680> status,

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The subcommittee on SB 170 opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and then worked through the bill section by section, focusing first on a housing-related provision that would prohibit municipalities from requiring occupants to be related by blood or marriage. The chair proposed adding “school enrollment status” as a protected class to prevent towns from limiting where students may live, especially in Durham. Members debated whether that phrase was too vague and whether “educational status,” “enrollment status,” or “school enrollment status” was the best wording. Public testimony raised concerns that adding a new protected class could have broader implications under the state’s anti-discrimination law and could also affect municipal zoning authority, while supporters argued the bill was aimed at preventing local rules that restrict student housing and group living arrangements. The subcommittee did not take a final vote on that language during the discussion. The committee then turned to land-use and subdivision provisions. The Department of Environmental Services testified that its test-pit and related land-development rules are already protective of groundwater and surface water, and that municipalities sometimes impose stricter setbacks or other requirements locally. Builders and housing advocates argued that more stringent local requirements for test pits, well siting, and related approvals add time and cost and can impede housing development, while some municipal concerns were raised about aquifer and wellhead protection overlay districts and local groundwater safeguards. Public testimony also supported making state standards uniform across municipalities, though one speaker noted that local and state review processes can differ and that the bill could simplify approvals. The subcommittee also discussed a road-length provision, with one member supporting limits on municipal caps that could impede development and another suggesting a possible water-and-sewer-capacity qualifier. Additional sections were explained as allowing utilities and infrastructure to be placed in subdivision open spaces or perimeter buffers, and requiring municipalities to act quickly on plan changes after initial review. The chair indicated support for several of the sections as drafted, and the discussion ended with the committee moving through the remaining provisions without recorded final votes in the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• Minnesota School of Public Health.
• areas and the final point was school areas and the final point was school safety<00:39:22.480>
• <00:42:17.040> We're from also looking at schools. We're from also looking at schools.
• person is going to turn into a school person is going to turn into a school shooter.<00:58:56.240
• priority over quality patient care. priority over quality patient care.

Bills: HF3668, HF2779, HF2771

Keywords: gun violence, public health, Department of Health, prevention, criminal justice, health care transparency, ownership disclosure, control reporting, health care consolidation, private equity, management services organization, MSO, provider organization, health insurer, pharmacy benefit manager, hospital system, affiliate reporting, financial disclosure, public reporting, market concentration

Summary: The House Finance and Policy Committee met on March 2 with a quorum present and heard House File 3668, which would create a state Office of Gun Violence Prevention. The bill author argued the office would treat gun violence as a public health crisis, improve research and coordination, and help reduce deaths and trauma, especially among children. Several supporters testified, including representatives from the Minnesota Medical Association, Protect Minnesota, family medicine, public health, and obstetrics/gynecology, all emphasizing firearm injury and suicide as major public health problems and urging a coordinated, data-driven response. Multiple testifiers shared personal accounts of shootings and their effects on children and families, including the Annunciation shooting, and said the office could help align prevention efforts across health care, law enforcement, and community organizations. Opposition came from the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, which argued the bill would create a permanent taxpayer-funded bureaucracy that could be used to shape firearm policy and restrict a constitutional right. The group said Minnesota should focus instead on enforcing existing laws, prosecuting violent offenders, and providing direct victim services. During committee discussion, Vice Chair Nadeau offered an A2 amendment to move the proposed office from the Department of Health to the Department of Public Safety, citing data-sharing, accountability, and examples from other cities and states; after discussion with the bill author, he withdrew the amendment. Chair Becker then noted existing state and local spending on violence prevention and public safety programs and raised concerns about duplication of effort.

Transcript Highlights:

• Select at least five school districts to participate in the pilot project.
• An act relating to taxation, changing the date of the back-to-school sales gross receipts tax deduction
• An act relating to the public school capital outlay, extending through fiscal year 2027 the provision
• that reduces local shares by one-third for some school districts and one-half for certain small school
• This resolution addresses the distribution of school funds and financial accounting for all public schools

Transcript Highlights:

• They have graduated from high school with... ...in college.
• So this is very much something that is on my mind and is a high priority for us.
• So to me, Learning Lab—I mean, obviously we have the budget priorities that we've got to grapple with
• How do we avoid duplication, replication, and more chaos at the school level?
• I absolutely believe that we need anti-Semitism protections in our schools.

Summary: The subcommittee heard presentations on several GovOps-related budget proposals, beginning with ongoing funding for the California Education Learning Lab. The Learning Lab described its intersegmental grants to UC, CSU, and community college faculty, including AI-related work and a math alignment project, and said the Governor’s proposal would move the program’s home agency to GovOps and restore $4 million annually. The Department of Finance supported the proposal as a way to improve coordination, while the LAO recommended rejecting it, arguing the projects are hard to scale, similar professional development already exists in the segments, and the state should consider saving General Fund dollars. Senators split on the value of the program, with some emphasizing innovation and intersegmental collaboration and others questioning its measurable long-term impact; the item was held open. The committee then reviewed the Office of Civil Rights proposal to implement AB 715 and SB 48 with $3.5 million in 2026-27 and $2.8 million ongoing. GovOps said the office had been set up administratively, positions were being recruited, and it would provide training, technical assistance, and complaint review related to anti-Semitism and other discrimination in TK-12 schools. The LAO had no concerns, but senators raised substantial questions about the office’s placement in GovOps, the lack of guidance while the laws are being implemented, the use of gubernatorial appointees, and whether the staffing structure matches the likely workload across different discrimination categories. GovOps said it would develop guidance, coordinate with CDE, and shift resources as needed once staff are hired, but several members said they were not prepared to support the item as presented; it was also held open. After public comment supporting the California Education Interagency Council, the subcommittee approved vote-only items 11 through 17 and 6 through 10. It then heard from the Office of Data and Innovation on a request for five positions and $1.25 million in reimbursement authority to expand digital service delivery work. ODI described projects such as reducing unauthorized EBT theft and forecasting community water system outages, and said it uses guardrails and contracts to protect sensitive data when working with vendor AI services. The LAO had no concerns, and members generally praised ODI’s small, high-impact role; the item was held open. Finally, the Department of Technology presented on the Middle-Mile Broadband Initiative, reporting that 423 miles are complete, more than 70% of the network has been permitted, and about 5,300 miles are expected to be completed by December 2026, with some work potentially slipping into 2027. CDT said Skyline Technology Solutions had been selected to operate the network and that the third-party administrator, Golden State Net, would continue to support development and later help oversee operations and sales. The LAO noted the project’s progress but raised concerns about the novel three-party structure, accountability, and long-term financial sustainability. Senators questioned the legal basis for the operator arrangement, the revenue outlook, reporting to the Legislature, and whether the network will be self-sustaining; CDT said it expects revenues to cover operations over time and will continue annual and quarterly reporting. The item was left open.

Transcript Highlights:

• What is your priority? And if they so choose, then I say let them.
• What is your priority? And if they so choose, then I say let them.
• everyone to go to law school. everyone to go to law school.
• ,<02:58:47.200> which They put pressure on our schools, which They put pressure on our schools
• That being said, schools, schools, schools, medical<03:29:03.800> care,<03:29:04.800> housing

Keywords: 1191, senate, all