Transcript Highlights:

• They're basically the professional association for on-site wastewater installers. They do training.
• It also allows us to revoke licenses if they don't follow the rules, if they use bad professional judgment
• It also allows us to revoke licenses if they don't follow the rules, if they use bad professional judgment

Keywords: 908, all

Summary: The committee met with a quorum and first took up Senate Bill 2276, which addresses water projects that cross county lines. Senator Larry Luick and Danny Quissel of the North Dakota Water Resource Districts Association explained that the bill would require joint boards for multi-county projects, with equal representation from each county, and would add a dispute-resolution process: mediation through the Agriculture Department, then appeal to the Department of Water Resources, and finally court if needed. An additional cleanup amendment was adopted to clarify that a district could proceed if a joint board or district refused to participate. Members raised concerns about possible county-versus-county litigation, but the committee approved the amendment and then passed SB 2276 as amended on an 11-0-2 roll call. The committee then heard the final bill of the day, Senate Bill 2267, on on-site wastewater treatment systems. DEQ Director Dave Glott presented a revised amendment reflecting prior discussion and input from local public health units and installers. The proposal would give the Department of Environmental Quality exclusive rulemaking authority, require public health units to inspect systems within 24 hours, allow MOUs with neighboring counties or health units, prohibit local rules that conflict with state standards, and create a state licensing system for installers while exempting homeowners working on their own property. It also set up permitting and appeals procedures, civil penalties for violations, and a $99,000 appropriation, with the department saying it would also rely on fee revenue and report back later on whether the program is working. Members asked about homeowner installation, local permitting, technical assistance, and whether the $99,000 appropriation and expected fees would be sufficient. Glott said homeowners could still consult with local health units and would likely still need permits, and estimated fees might be around $200 per year for installers, generating roughly $50,000 annually. The committee adopted the amendment and then passed SB 2267 as amended on a due-pass motion, with one no vote recorded. The chair then adjourned the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• the following categories: teacher compensation, instructional materials and supplies, equipment, professional
• Professional development accounts for around 1% of total expenditures for all the programs across the
• Professional development accounts for around 1% of total expenditures for all the programs across the

Summary: The Pre-K through 12 Budget Subcommittee met for its first meeting of the 2025 session and received an overview of add-on weights in the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP), followed by a Department of Education presentation on a legislatively required study of add-on weight funding and expenditures. The chair explained that add-on weights apply to acceleration and career programs such as AP, IB, ACE, CAPE, dual enrollment, early graduation, and certain small-district needs, and noted that add-on funding has grown substantially as the base student allocation increased. The chair also raised concerns that the department’s report did not clearly show whether districts’ reported costs included the full costs required by the proviso, and asked for more specificity on any recommended adjustment to the weights. Deputy Commissioner Suzanne Pridgen said the department surveyed districts on how they spent add-on revenue for fiscal years 2021-22 through 2023-24, with categories including teacher compensation, materials, equipment, professional development, exam fees, counseling, apprenticeship costs, and other expenditures. She said most add-on funds were spent on teacher bonuses and compensation, with AP, ACE, CAPE, and dual enrollment showing the largest increases in spending in 2023-24 due to higher FEFP funding; IB and early graduation were relatively flat. The department reported that add-on revenue covered between 41.8% and 79.2% of total program expenditures in 2023-24 and recommended adjusting add-on weights to better align with pre-2023-24 funding relationships, though no specific percentage was given during the meeting. Members asked about how “other” expenditures were categorized, whether teacher compensation included only statutory bonuses, how dual enrollment tuition and fees were counted, the small district factor, and whether the weights incentivize districts to offer advanced programs. The department clarified that teacher compensation in the study referred only to bonuses, that some “other” costs included charter school payments and dual enrollment tuition/fees, and that the small district factor is 1.0277, increasing base funding by 2.77% for fiscally constrained counties. No votes were taken, and the meeting adjourned after the presentation and questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• They now require professional design and... ...requiring professional design and professional input on

Bills: HB324, HB252, SB80, HB241

Keywords: sheriffs, term of office, Alabama law, local government, election, residential construction, architectural approval, engineering approval, home building, single family residences, 1136, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We're seeking to expand our professional development offerings to public safety organizations through
• Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program in response to the critical shortage of mental health professionals
• millwrights, maritime workers, and truck drivers so that they can all have a livable wage and a professional

Transcript Highlights:

• We're seeking to expand our professional development offerings to public safety organizations through
• mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program in response to the critical shortage of mental health professionals
• , welders, millwrights, maritime, truck drivers so that they can all have a livable wage and a professional

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• ALLOWED IN FLORIDA AND OFFERS THE SAME STANDARD OF CARE AS TRADITIONAL AND OFFICE VISITS BY LICENSED PROFESSIONALS
• FIRST I'D LIKE TO SAY WE LOVE OUR NURSES AND MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS SO THANK YOU LADIES FOR BEING HERE
• HAZARD BUT IT IS A PATIENT SAFETY RISK AS WELL SO LET'S SUPPORT OUR PATIENTS AS WELL AS OUR MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We recognize that the MPCA and here are staffed with dedicated professionals, with experts to protect
• Our managers are diligent professional scientists. They know what they're doing.
• And I'll just jump in the interest of time, but even that last one, wildlife professionals should have
• <01:31:09.000> should<01:31:09.120> have one, wildlife professionals should have one
• Um, but this is not just professional.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, non-competes can make it more difficult to recruit professionals from other regions because they
• And not that they're not being conducted professionally now. I don't mean to suggest that.
• higher education and professional higher education and professional standards<04:09:34.239> nationwide
• <04:12:00.399> lensure<04:12:00.960> and office of professional lensure and office
• > standards maintains high professional standards maintains high professional standards while<

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee first held a public hearing and then an executive session on Senate Bill 401, which DHHS described as a cleanup bill. Testimony from the department explained that the bill would repeal obsolete reporting requirements tied to a repealed municipal reimbursement program and to the now-repealed commission on demographic trends. No one testified in opposition, and the committee voted 12-0 ought to pass, placing the bill on the consent calendar. The committee then heard Senate Bill 402, which would eliminate certain non-compete agreements for physician associates going forward. Senator Gray introduced the bill, and a representative of the New Hampshire Society of Physician Associates said it would improve workforce recruitment and access to care without changing scope of practice or affecting existing agreements. Committee members asked about the length of current restrictions and whether the change would make New Hampshire more attractive to PAs. The committee voted 12-0 ought to pass and sent the bill to the consent calendar. Next, the committee took up Senate Bill 426, which would repeal the permissible fireworks committee. Senator Uler and the deputy state fire marshal said the committee’s original purpose had been overtaken by later changes adopting federal fireworks standards, and that the fire marshal now has the necessary authority. The committee voted 12-0 ought to pass and placed the bill on the consent calendar. Finally, the committee began hearing Senate Bill 469, a DMV modernization bill allowing electronic signatures in place of wet signatures for certain motor vehicle title and registration processes. Senator Lang, Carvana, the New Hampshire Auto Dealers Association, Copart, and DMV staff all supported the measure, saying it would reduce delays, errors, and paperwork burdens. Members asked about AI, consumer protections, costs, and how electronic signatures would work in practice, including in cases involving deceased owners. The transcript cuts off during that hearing before any committee action on SB 469.

Transcript Highlights:

• reef education and teacher professional reef education and teacher professional development<01:46
• highquality, credit bearing professional highquality, credit bearing professional development,<01
• that will enable PIC to continue our funding artists and professional development initiatives for film
• funding artists and professional funding artists and professional development<02:06:38.000> initiatives
• Hawaiʻi Pacific Advisory Group serves as a consortium of professionals from various disciplines in the

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: This joint informational briefing on Act 310 grants and aid focused on organizations describing how federal funding cuts, Medicaid/SNAP changes, and related policy shifts are affecting their services and budgets. Committee members explained there would be no Q&A, testimony would be limited to one minute, and in-person participants would be heard before Zoom callers. Members repeatedly asked testifiers to identify the amount of federal funding lost or at risk. Testimony came from a wide range of nonprofits and community providers, including Aloha Care, Hawaii Bicycling League, Hawaii Literacy, Hawaii Youth Symphony, Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaii, the Tsunami Museum, The Kohala Center, West Hawaii Community Health Center, West Hawaii Region Hospital Foundation, Sounding Joy Music Therapy, Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii, Dynamic Community Solutions, Feeding Hawaii Together, Girl Scouts of Hawaii, Hawaii Disability Rights Center, Hawaii Youth Services Network, Hawaiian Lending and Investments, Homana, Honolulu Theatre for the Youth, Kids Hurt Too Hawaii, and Kokua Kalihi Valley. Most described reduced or threatened federal support and requested state funding to maintain services such as health care access, food security, disaster preparedness, literacy and digital inclusion, youth mentoring, arts education, housing, and climate or agricultural resilience. Several speakers emphasized direct impacts on vulnerable populations, including kūpuna, low-income families, immigrants, homeless youth, and people with disabilities. Requests ranged from relatively small planning or program grants to multi-million-dollar stabilization asks, with some organizations citing specific losses such as reduced Medicaid or USDA funding, canceled EPA or FEMA support, or expiring federal grants. No votes or formal committee actions were taken during the briefing.

Transcript Highlights:

• This dual challenge requires us to strike a careful balance, maintaining high professional standards
• a careful balance, maintaining to strike a careful balance, maintaining high<00:05:01.080> professional
• <00:05:01.680> standards<00:05:02.600> while high professional standards while high
• professional standards while expanding<00:05:03.480> pathways<00:05:04.080> to<00:05:04.160
• tax accounting. professional tax accounting.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• security professionals to do their job. security professionals to do their job. while<00:26:02.240>
• Let's fund our cybersecurity professionals.
• <00:33:41.760> Stop our cyber security professionals.
• Stop our cyber security professionals.
• and ICE professional staff will not<01:15:37.120> be<01:15:37.280> paid.

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Friday, March 27, 2026, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• One is because someone was on a professional conference.
• Sorry for that, professional conference.
• Chuck Burger: Yes, I'm Chuck Burger, a professional civil engineer.
• I'm Eric Pelfrey, our director of professional services for the Transportation Cabinet.
• community mental health professionals. community mental health professionals.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The committee first approved the August 12 minutes and then handled a large agenda of 355 contracts totaling about $278.7 million. It agreed to defer three Office of Energy Policy items to the October 2025 meeting and reviewed a deferred Kentucky Educational Television contract without objection. The main substantive discussion centered on two University of Louisville legal services PSC amendments and a Seven Counties Services MOA item. For the University of Louisville items, members questioned a large increase in hourly rates and the scope of the legal services, especially complex litigation work and a Colorado estate matter. University officials said the contracts followed an RFP, involved specialized litigation, included local counsel where required, and were expected to be offset by savings in other PSCs and by a potential financial recovery in the Colorado matter. The committee also discussed whether the $125 hourly rate was a statutory requirement or committee policy; the chair later said staff would verify whether it was an executive-branch regulation or statutory rate. Both University of Louisville items were ultimately approved, though Senator Meredith voted no on one and Senator Douglas explained his support while urging future adjustments and more information sharing. The Seven Counties Services contract drew questions about how the $18.7 million would be used and whether federal changes could affect future funding. Cabinet officials described 988 crisis response, outpatient mental health and substance use treatment, prevention, recovery, and harm-reduction services, and said they were monitoring federal developments daily. Representative Petrie and Senator Thomas pressed the cabinet on the long-running Seven Counties bankruptcy and the need to push for resolution; officials said the matter was pending on a motion for reconsideration and that they would try to help move it along. The contract was approved. At the end of the meeting, the committee approved the remaining agenda items as reviewed without objection, but Senator Meredith voted no on the blanket approval motion because of numerous retroactive contract requests and what she said were insufficient explanations such as administrative error or staff being on conference. She said retroactive approvals should be rare and supported stronger internal controls.

Transcript Highlights:

• Members, I rise to present AB 667, the Language Access and Professional Licensing Act.
• A professional license can open doors for people to gain more employment, education, and professional
• Let's make sure that we have some level of professionalism. This is not a.
• Costly regulation, this is a professional standard that everyone should be automatically adhering to.
• This bill is an important language access measure that will ensure that limited English professional

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• These expectations and standards require a level of professionalism that can be improved by strengthening
• <03:24:31.520> His professionals caring for him. His professionals caring for him.
• We're grateful to the first responders for their prompt action on the scene and medical professionals
• <07:08:52.320> for the scene and medical professionals for the scene and medical professionals
• We salute these talented and committed professionals. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I yield back.

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Monday, December 15, 2025, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They carry out a complex mission and do it every day with professionalism and dedication.
• They carry out a complex mission and do it every day with professionalism and dedication.
• They carry out a complex mission and do it every day with professionalism and dedication.
• I've seen the professionalism.
• So these are people, they're professionals, that are working in this field.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Ways and Means held its sixth public hearing on the Governor’s H-2 budget proposal for fiscal year 2026, focused on public safety and judiciary agencies, at the Foxborough Community Center. After opening remarks and local welcomes, the committee heard first from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, led by Secretary Gina Kwan, who outlined a $1.72 billion budget, up $69.8 million from FY26. She said the proposal emphasizes core operations, readiness, and partnerships with municipalities, and highlighted work on firearms-law implementation, State Police reform, DOC reentry efforts, hate-crimes prevention, emergency response, and planning for major events including the World Cup. Members also raised concerns about DNA backlog reporting, State Police academy boxing and training standards, ICE communication, disaster relief funding, crime lab staffing, EMS placement, and diversity in public safety leadership. Several exchanges focused on specific operational issues. Secretary Kwan and her team said the State Police are tracking the influx of forensic work from local sheriffs, that the boxing program remains suspended pending an IACP review and likely will not return in its prior form, and that EOPS has no direct communication with ICE but supports law-enforcement coordination where appropriate. On disaster preparedness, officials said the new disaster relief fund is being developed with MEMA and A&F, currently capitalized at $14 million with another $14 million expected, though members urged a more permanent funding source. On the crime lab, staff said the roughly $4.5 million increase is intended to cover core operations and a structural funding gap rather than expand services. The secretary also said EOPS is not ready to absorb OEMS from DPH at this time, though she would keep an open mind. The committee then heard from district attorneys, led by Suffolk County DA Kevin Hayden, who said the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association is seeking a 10% increase in operating budgets, including about $16.7 million for staffing salaries, to recruit and retain prosecutors, advocates, and support staff. He said the request reflects rising workload and the need to keep the criminal justice system functioning efficiently and fairly. The hearing was recessed briefly after the district attorneys’ opening remarks, with additional testimony expected to continue afterward.

Transcript Highlights:

• In Minnesota, the state health department and professional licensing board issued clarifications.
• In Minnesota, the state health department and professional licensing board issued clarifications.
• In Minnesota, the state health department and professional licensing board issued clarifications.
• In Minnesota, the state health department and professional licensing board issued clarifications.
• In Minnesota, the state health department and professional licensing board issued clarifications.

Keywords: 9:00am HB 155 9:30am HB 1102 10:30am HB 1109 11:00am HB 1356 11:30am HB 1469 1:00pm HB 1323 2:00pm HB 1376, 928, house, all

Summary: The meeting began with unanimous committee approval of amendment 2026-2021S to HB 2. Senator Lang explained the amendment corrected a drafting error so that $2.5 million in state funds, matched with federal money for a total of $5 million, could be spent during the biennium rather than lapse at the end of the fiscal year. The money is intended to stabilize Medicaid per diem rates for county nursing homes, and members agreed without objection to adopt the amendment and continue working from the bill as amended by the Senate. The committee then discussed HB 155 and a proposed amendment, 2026-201H, dealing with the business enterprise tax. The House side described the proposal as a compromise that would raise the filing threshold from $250,000 to $375,000 and create a trigger that would reduce the BET rate by 0.05% for each $100 million in combined business tax surplus, down to a floor of 0.25%. Senate members opposed lowering the rate at this time, arguing that tax relief should focus on the filing threshold, which they said would remove filing burdens for about 3,500 small businesses, and that rate cuts should be considered in a budget cycle rather than an off-year. Concerns were raised that one-time revenues, such as tax amnesty receipts or federal repatriation-related surpluses, could unintentionally trigger reductions. Representative Sweeney later offered a revised approach by moving the effective date of the trigger mechanism to January 1, 2028, and said he was also willing to carve out tax amnesty revenues or adjust the effective date to avoid using one-time funds. The Senate remained unwilling to agree to a rate reduction, though it expressed openness to raising the filing threshold further. The committee ultimately did not resolve the business tax issue and recessed to continue discussions at a later time. The final item discussed was HB 1102, concerning an increase in the research and development tax credit paired with changes to state park fees. House members supported the R&D credit increase but opposed tying it to higher park fees, citing concerns about tourism, especially at border parks, and noting that the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources had said it did not need the increase. Senate members defended the park fee changes as a fairness issue, arguing that New Hampshire residents should pay less than out-of-state visitors and that the department had not raised rates in many years. No vote was taken on this item during the discussion captured here.

Transcript Highlights:

• As a professional planner, I didn't see any um particular problems with at least having an ... between
• As a professional planner, I didn't see any um particular problems with at least having an agreement
• As a professional planner, I didn't see any um particular problems with at least having an agreement
• <01:49:40.880> with professionally, are you comfortable with professionally, are you comfortable
• <02:13:10.480> license license um the the professional license license um the the professional

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The Committee on Water and Land met on February 3, 2026, and heard testimony on several bills, with the chair emphasizing a two-minute limit and noting that bills would die if the hearing ran past noon. For HB 1848, the Commission on Water Resource Management and the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development both supported the measure with technical, non-substantive amendments. Testimony focused on requiring early consultation about water availability in district boundary amendment petitions, with water officials explaining that the petitioner should submit a written statement reflecting consultation and that the goal was to identify water constraints earlier in the development process. The Land Use Commission’s representative opposed the bill, arguing that water availability is already addressed through existing environmental review and agency consultation, that the issue had been raised and rejected before, and that the proposal could create unnecessary delay or litigation. The committee then heard HB 1728 on rainwater catchment systems. The Commission on Water Resource Management said it acknowledged the bill’s intent but deferred to counties and other regulatory agencies, including the Department of Health, on regulatory implications. Hawaii Realtors testified in support. No vote was taken during the portion of the hearing shown. For HB 1652 on storm water management systems, the Hawaiian Lifeguard Association opposed the bill, arguing it would weaken protections created by Act 281 (“Sharkey’s Law”) and increase drowning risk for children by exempting certain water features from safety requirements. The American Council of Engineering Companies of Hawaii supported the bill, saying the language clarifies and better balances child safety with practical green stormwater infrastructure, including depth-based limits and exemptions for certain agricultural ponds. The Hawaii Farm Bureau also supported the agricultural pond exemption, saying such ponds are used for irrigation, livestock, and fire control and are generally away from the public. A private testifier, Allison Schaers, opposed the bill and described her daughter’s drowning in a detention basin, arguing that poor maintenance can turn stormwater features into dangerous hazards. The hearing ended without any recorded committee action or vote in the excerpt provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• She is an insurance professional who has spent many years working with MCCA and with child care businesses
• She is an insurance professional who has spent many years working with MCCA and with child care businesses
• There are associations for child care professionals, just like there are for other professions that have
• We don't trust child care professionals like we trust other professionals, and we should figure out why
• Thank you. ...proxies could we use for professionalism or, you know, national types of standards or other

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• years um with the professional years um with the professional responsibility<01:02:32.520> board
• Guardians ad Litem are professionals with diverse backgrounds who have wide-ranging training and education
• <01:43:29.520> with<01:43:29.719> diverse Liam are professionals with diverse Liam
• are professionals with diverse backgrounds<01:43:30.719> who<01:43:30.880> have<01:43:31.119
• model are so are you professional model are so are you anticipating<01:50:01.920> what<01:50:

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And I'm seeing districts lean into this pretty substantively, from doing professional development with
• But diversity, equity, and inclusion professionals can help here in two ways.
• And what we found—and we asked about teachers and medical professionals, military personnel, police,
• Here's teachers and medical professionals... ...trainings across various professions.
• Here's teachers and medical professionals.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Racial Equity, Civil Rights, and Inclusion held an informational hearing on diversity, equity, and inclusion in Massachusetts; no bills were heard or voted on. Chairs Bud Williams and Liz Miranda opened by framing the hearing as a response to recent federal actions they said threatened DEI efforts, funding, and civil rights protections in education and other sectors. They said the committee would hear from experts, agencies, advocates, and businesses about the legality and benefits of DEI and the impact of federal actions on the Commonwealth. Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler testified virtually that Massachusetts is pushing back against federal efforts to restrict DEI, including guidance and certification demands directed at schools. He highlighted state investments in early education, child care, early college, career and technical education, and educator diversity, arguing these efforts help close opportunity gaps for Black and brown students, students with disabilities, English learners, and other underserved groups. In response to member questions, he said federal education dollars are core to services for students and that the state is prepared to fight funding cuts while monitoring impacts across K-12, early education, and higher education. Elizabeth Matos of the Attorney General’s Office said DEIA programs remain legal under state and federal law and described AG guidance issued to help institutions navigate federal confusion. She reviewed litigation the office has joined or won, including efforts involving withheld school funds, museums and libraries, the Minority Business Development Agency, Head Start, AmeriCorps, and other federal actions. Members asked about immigration-related fear and profiling, and Matos pointed to existing Know Your Rights guidance, said complaints to the Civil Rights Division have increased, and noted the office is seeing issues involving housing discrimination, employment, public accommodations, and threats to call ICE. She also said the office is open to further legislative ideas but did not discuss specifics. Evelyn Carter, a social psychologist, testified that diversity, equity, and inclusion are often misunderstood and defined the terms plainly, emphasizing that diversity is a group characteristic, equity addresses unequal starting points, and inclusion is about belonging and access. She argued that DEI matters because it creates guardrails against bias, helps make environments accessible, and addresses ongoing inequities. In response to questions, she suggested practical strategies such as using clear criteria and written records in decision-making, broadening who is considered part of one’s in-group, and pairing bias awareness with concrete behavior-change tools. The hearing also included testimony from Meredith Tewitt of the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women, who spoke about the importance of DEI for women, veterans, and people who rely on federal institutions, and urged lawmakers to continue supporting inclusion and access.