Transcript Highlights:

• We describe that broadly as family physicians, nurse practitioners, PAs, dentists, mental health and
• Primary care physicians are nationally increasingly difficult to attract, especially in rural areas.
• Primary care physicians are nationally increasingly difficult to attract, especially in rural areas.
• </c> we can succeed primary care physicians we can succeed primary care physicians are<01:51:50.400><
• </c> fees and that's the the niku Physicians fees and that's the the niku Physicians and<03:13:31.000

Committee: Senate Health and Human Services

Transcript Highlights:

• modifies the title of physician assistant to physician associate.
• Physicians deeply value physician assistants as essential members of physician-led team-based care.
• Physicians deeply value physician assistants as essential members of physician-led team-based care.
• ,</c><01:28:20.719><c> physicians</c><01:28:21.240><c> in</c> trained physicians, physicians in trained
• > physicians.

Committee: Senate Health and Human Services

Transcript Highlights:

• What we're trying to do with the continuing medical education is to have more physicians, nurses, and
• nurses and health to have more physician nurses and health care<01:10:59.360><c> providers</c><01:11
• I think cannabis is a commodity, and it's treated as such, and it really comes down to who can operate
• /c><01:38:47.880><c> as</c><01:38:48.080><c> such</c><01:38:48.719><c> and</c> commodity and it's treated
• <c> has</c><01:57:52.639><c> been</c> Epidiolex is the famous one that is concentrated CBD used to treat

Transcript Highlights:

• to staff serve the funds for physicians to staff serve as<00:41:46.079><c> medical</c><00:41:46.400>
• We have a physician, previously it was on this contract.
• has to be a physician and has to<00:42:40.960><c> have</c><00:42:41.040><c> certain</c><00:42:41.359
• We have a physician um public health.
• But uh we had a physician<00:43:02.960><c> who</c><00:43:03.119><c> was</c><00:43:03.200><c> over</c>

Summary: The committee first approved the April 13 minutes and then turned to a large agenda of contracts. Chairman Douglas said there were 52 contracts totaling about $369.3 million, and noted that most vendors were registered with the Secretary of State except for item 118 on the routine personal services green list and item 19 involving Morehead State University and Kentucky State University. The committee voted to defer item 118 to the June 26 meeting and later also deferred the Kentucky State University contract on the deferred list to the June 26 meeting. The main discussion centered on a deferred personal services contract for the Kentucky Board of Optometric Examiners, involving outside legal counsel. Senator Meredith raised concerns about KRS 320 and whether the board had authority to hire outside counsel when the statute says the Attorney General shall provide legal services to the board. Dr. Mary Beth Morris, the board president, and Christopher Thacker of the Attorney General’s office testified after being sworn in. Thacker explained that the statute and related law allow both Attorney General assistance and independent counsel, and argued that outside counsel is appropriate for day-to-day legal work because it avoids conflicts, especially on open records issues, regulatory advice, and disciplinary hearings. Senator Meredith said he agreed with approving the contract but questioned how the board had reached this point and whether the current statutes reflect modern practice. He raised concerns about transparency and accountability, referencing a prior advisory opinion involving the board’s handling of exam requirements during COVID and saying the board should have consulted the Attorney General before acting. Thacker responded that the Attorney General’s office serves the Commonwealth as a whole, not as counsel to one board, and that the board’s use of outside counsel is a reasonable and economical arrangement. The exchange ended with Meredith suggesting that broader legislative action may be needed to clarify reporting relationships and oversight for the board.

Transcript Highlights:

• Some of them are teenagers, and we treat those differently. This is a third offense.
• You know, that's one thing to try to treat somebody and get them out of the thing, but when they are
• My healing came from being treated with dignity and respect and being recognized as a survivor, not as
• We treat young people differently because we believe in them.
• We treat young people differently because we believe in them.

Summary: The committee began without a quorum and heard several bills in subcommittee format. AB 1546, which would increase penalties for repeat DUI offenders by allowing a third DUI within 10 years to be charged as a wobbler, requiring a fifth DUI to be a felony, and lengthening ignition interlock and license revocation periods, drew strong support from law enforcement and district attorney groups and opposition from public defenders and reform advocates who argued the bill would further criminalize substance use and mental health issues. No vote was taken because there was no quorum at the time. AB 1595, aimed at standardizing post-conviction procedures for wrongful conviction claims and clarifying courts’ authority to consider new evidence, was supported by innocence and public defender organizations and opposed by district attorneys, who said existing habeas law is already clear and that the bill would add complexity and burden courts. AB 292, which would impose mandatory jail time for repeat felony domestic violence offenders within seven years, was supported by sheriffs, prosecutors, probation officers, and local governments, but opposed by domestic violence survivor advocates and public defender groups who warned it would not deter abuse and could criminalize survivors and divert resources from services. AB 1816, allowing courts to extend probation up to one additional year for sex offenders who have not completed required treatment, drew support from probation and law enforcement groups and opposition from public defenders and civil liberties advocates concerned about longer supervision, technical violations, and barriers such as poverty and treatment access; the committee later took a roll call and passed the bill 3-1, with one member not voting, sending it to Appropriations. After quorum was established, the committee also passed AB 1627, which would bar people with misconduct in immigration enforcement from becoming California peace officers, and AB 1927, which would create a misdemeanor for falsely impersonating a bail agent to solicit bail, both on due pass motions to Judiciary/Appropriations as amended. AB 1854, a shield-law measure expanding protections for reproductive and gender-affirming health care providers, patients, and related businesses from out-of-state legal process, was supported by the Attorney General’s office and reproductive rights groups and opposed by anti-abortion and family policy organizations; it was moved on a due pass motion to Judiciary. The committee then heard AB 1872, which would make repeat adult swatting offenses a felony/wobbler and require restitution for property damage, with support from law enforcement, prosecutors, and civil liberties advocates and opposition from public defenders and justice reform groups who argued the bill would not deter conduct and could disproportionately affect people with mental illness or undocumented status. A motion to advance AB 1872 was made, but the transcript cuts off before any final vote on that bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• Later on in 2019, I wrote an article in the Minnesota Physician with Dr. Chris Foley. Dr.
• </c><01:06:12.400><c> with</c> article in the Minnesota physician with article in the Minnesota physician
• I am an internal medicine physician,<01:32:50.000><c> but</c><01:32:50.239><c> we</c><01:32:50.400><c
• , but we have on our desks a physician, but we have on our desks a letter<01:32:52.000><c> from</c><01
• </c> re treated as negotiable. re treated as negotiable. a<02:43:22.080><c> pattern</c><02:43:22.319>

Transcript Highlights:

• Next on our agenda is expanding physician access. Um, we have Adam Meyer.
• </c><00:30:31.200><c> while</c> international physicians while international physicians while maintaining
• </c> international physicians to repeat international physicians to repeat residency<00:32:07.120><c>
• -trained physician and their success rate in residency versus a foreign-trained physician and their success
• </c> physician and to take over. Correct. physician and to take over. Correct.

Summary: The committee met on October 23, 2025, approved the September 25 minutes, and heard several informational presentations on occupational licensing and workforce access. The first major topic was the dietitian licensure compact, presented by Rep. Vanessa Gracel, Whitney Duddy, and Caitlyn Bison. They said the compact would be revenue-neutral, improve licensure portability, support military families, expand telehealth and rural access, and preserve state regulatory authority. Testimony noted that 15 states had joined the compact, including Ohio and Tennessee, and that Kentucky would have a seat on the compact commission if it enacted the measure. Members asked about bordering states and possible telehealth competition concerns; witnesses said they had not seen evidence of harmful effects in other compacts and described the compact as expanding access rather than displacing local providers. The committee then heard testimony on music therapy licensure, with Chris Millet, Laura Elliot Buckner, and Dr. Kimberly Cinemore speaking in support of Senate Bill 42. They described music therapy as a clinical, board-certified profession requiring formal education, supervised training, and national certification, and argued that state licensure would protect the public, clarify scope of practice, and help retain Kentucky-trained professionals. Witnesses said the bill would not require new state funding, could be administered through a self-sustaining licensing structure, and would not prevent others from using music in their work. In response to questions, they said licensure could help open doors to insurance, waiver, and HSA reimbursement, but would not guarantee coverage. Finally, the committee heard testimony on expanding physician access through a provisional licensure pathway for internationally trained physicians. Adam Meyer of the Cicero Institute said Kentucky faces a severe physician shortage, especially in rural areas, and argued that qualified international physicians should not have to repeat residency if they meet strict criteria, including an employment offer, prior training and experience, good standing, U.S. exam passage, and a three-year provisional period before full licensure. Rapender Carr of Baptist Health supported the concept, saying it could help fill hard-to-recruit positions across the state and improve access in rural markets. No votes were taken on these policy topics during the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• They're required to have insurance, malpractice, same level as the physician.
• It's common to see physician anesthesiologists in metro settings.
• Physician anesthesiologists are not being replaced by CRNAs.
• There will always be a physician in the room. We're not just sedating people.
• Fundamentally, we should want health care to be supervised by physicians.

Summary: The Health Professions and Programs Subcommittee met with a quorum and heard two bills. HB 649 would remove the current written physician protocol requirement for certified registered nurse anesthetists, allowing CRNAs to practice autonomously. The sponsor and supporters argued the change would modernize Florida law, address anesthesia workforce shortages, keep graduates in the state, and improve access especially in rural areas; opponents, including the Florida Medical Association and a cardiologist, warned that physician oversight is important for patient safety and that anesthesia complications can arise quickly. After debate, the committee passed HB 649 favorably by a vote of 12 yeas and 6 nays. The committee then heard HB 723, which requires the Department of Health, working with school districts, to develop informational materials on early detection of type 1 diabetes and have schools notify parents within the first 30 school days about those materials. The sponsor said the goal is to help parents recognize warning signs earlier and avoid emergency diagnoses such as diabetic ketoacidosis, with minimal fiscal impact because the materials would be distributed digitally. Members generally supported the bill and discussed timing and distribution methods, suggesting the notice not get lost in back-to-school paperwork. HB 723 passed unanimously, 18 yeas and 0 nays, and was reported favorably.

Transcript Highlights:

• acquisition of practice C with four physicians.
• But on the other as physician offices.
• in</c><00:03:48.239><c> one</c> physician pra three physicians in one physician pra three physicians
• ,</c><00:04:13.120><c> add-on</c> practice with two physicians, add-on practice with two physicians,
• </c> practice C with four physicians. practice C with four physicians.

Transcript Highlights:

• We do feel that AB 1975 treats higher grid usage as a goal, but that's not how we feel that a reliable
• We do feel that AB 1975 treats higher grid usage as a goal, but it's not how we feel that a reliable
• It's, you know, it's since moved from that and kind of... treats higher grid usage as a goal, but it's
• This bill corrects an operational practice that can disadvantage affordable housing development by treating
• for Social Responsibility. ...and in opposition for a few other folks, including Physicians for Social

Committee: House Utilities and Energy

Transcript Highlights:

• , physicians, physicians, to<00:03:52.360><c> look</c><00:03:52.600><c> at</c><00:03:52.720><c> this<
• </c> Physician Assistants. Physician Assistants.
• We also took input from physicians.
• </c><00:25:23.040><c> in</c> can actually ever replace a physician in can actually ever replace a physician
• I'm not here advocating physicians.

Summary: The Senate Standing Committee on Health Services met with a quorum and first took up Senate Joint Resolution 116, sponsored by President Stivers. The resolution directs the University of Kentucky, the University of Louisville, and Eastern Kentucky University to work over the next year on a statewide framework to improve health care access, especially in underserved and unserved areas. Members discussed physician shortages, maldistribution of doctors, recruitment and retention, loan forgiveness, scholarships, technology, and the connection between health care access and economic development in rural Kentucky. The resolution was reported favorably on a unanimous roll call vote. The committee then considered Senate Bill 116, relating to physician assistants and a shift from a supervisory to a collaborative practice model. The sponsor and PA witnesses explained that the bill was heavily revised through a committee substitute after discussions with the Kentucky Medical Association, physicians, and hospitals. They said the substitute keeps physician supervision in place while allowing health care teams to function more efficiently, and they emphasized that the bill is intended to improve access to care, particularly in rural areas with few doctors. Some members supported the compromise and the collaboration, while others raised concerns that expanding PA practice could worsen long-term physician shortages or reduce incentives for doctors to practice in rural Kentucky. The bill passed the committee 7-2 with favorable expression.

Transcript Highlights:

• There were no effective biomedical methods to prevent or treat HIV infection.
• There were no effective biomedical methods to prevent or treat HIV infection.
• HIV infection was a death. medical methods to prevent or treat HIV infection.
• I'm a neonatologist and a physician-scientist, and I strongly support this bill at UC Davis.

Committee: House Appropriations

Transcript Highlights:

• Does that report also—can you provide us the number of Arkansans that were treated instead of just a
• probably tell you that area wage index and talking about how Medicare Advantage disproportionately treats
• probably tell you that area wage index and talking about how Medicare advantage disproportionately treats
• Did the right physician sign the document?

Committee: All ALC-HOSPITAL, MEDICAID, & DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES STUDY SUBCOMMITTEE

Summary: The subcommittee met to review Department of Human Services hospital payments in Arkansas Medicaid, with DHS Secretary Janet Mann and Deputy Secretary Misty Eubanks presenting first, followed by Arkansas Hospital Association Executive Vice President Jody Ann Tritt and a brief comment from Arkansas Children’s. DHS outlined the main hospital payment streams: fee-for-service per diem payments, upper payment limit (UPL) supplemental payments, cost settlements, and smaller payments such as graduate medical education and disproportionate share hospital funds. Members asked for plain-language explanations of cost settlements, why per diem rates vary by hospital type, and why UPL applies to private hospitals. DHS said cost settlements and UPL are mechanisms to help offset Medicaid underpayment, with SFY 2025 hospital payments totaling hundreds of millions of dollars and no general revenue used for supplemental payments beyond the state share funded through hospital assessments and related financing structures. Committee members focused heavily on whether Arkansas hospitals are adequately reimbursed and why rural hospitals struggle. Tritt explained that critical access hospitals, rural emergency hospitals, PPS hospitals, and specialty hospitals operate under different federal and state rules, and said lower per diem rates for some facilities help with cash flow and later cost settlement adjustments. She said Arkansas hospitals are under financial strain, citing a negative patient services margin statewide and noting that Medicaid, Medicare, and commercial payers all contribute to the problem. She also said the association had just authorized a statewide survey of hospital finances and costs, which she expected would take about a year to complete. A major theme was commercial insurance reimbursement. Tritt argued Arkansas hospitals are paid far less than hospitals in neighboring states even though premiums are similar, and said administrative burdens, prior authorizations, and denials add to the problem. She said hospitals receive about 52 to 53 cents on the dollar for Medicaid costs without UPL and about 78 cents with UPL, still below cost. Members also discussed Medicare wage index issues, Medicare Advantage, and whether hospitals could use technology or alternative arrangements to improve finances. No votes were taken on the hospital presentation. At the end of the meeting, DHS provided a brief update on Living Choices and assisted living reimbursement. Officials said one assisted living facility, Pillars of the Community in Crossett, had announced closure, with nine waiver clients being transitioned to other settings. DHS said the current cost reporting period was underway and that a new rate study could be ready for review before the end of the fiscal year if reports were submitted on time. Members also asked about the broader waiver plan, and DHS said the next waiver iteration would likely be brought back to the committee in the summer.

Transcript Highlights:

• Breck LeBegg, excuse me, testifying strong con House Bill 2322 for Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility
• The ability to use the water out of a data center that's treated, and then you have to have super clean
• water to put through electrolysis, but you can use some— Out of a data center that's treated, and then
• This is a bill that treats the imposition of real estate excise tax a little differently when forest

Bills: HB1983 , HB1974 , HB2334 , HB2367 , HB2650 , HB2655

Committee: House Finance

Keywords: timberland, real estate, excise tax, governmental entities, property taxation, land bank, land banking authority, affordable housing, housing crisis, housing supply, public corporation, public housing authority, nonprofit housing, tax-foreclosed property, blight remediation, redevelopment, anti-displacement, equity, redlining, racial segregation

Transcript Highlights:

• The prime sponsor continued that some people treat kratom like a medical supplement.
• He was taking oxy, 20 of them a day, that he was getting prescribed from his physician because he had
• It is often sold openly, marketed as natural, and treated like it's harmless, but what we are seeing
• And I think we should continue to work on cannabis as a legal business in the state of Washington, treated

Summary: The Consumer Protection and Business Committee held a public hearing on House Bill 2291, the Kratom Consumer Protection Act, and then moved into executive session on several bills. Staff explained that HB 2291 would license kratom retailers and processors, set age 21 purchase limits, require labeling, child-resistant packaging, independent testing, an LCB-approved product directory, and an 11% excise tax, while banning certain synthetic or adulterated kratom products and restricting online/mail sales and public consumption. The prime sponsor said the bill was intended to regulate natural kratom while banning the synthetic or chemically altered forms, and several witnesses supported stronger youth protections and product standards. Others opposed the bill’s licensing fee, statewide preemption of local bans, or the regulatory approach, while some testified that natural kratom helps with pain or recovery. The hearing on HB 2291 was then closed without action. In executive session, the committee took action on multiple bills. HB 2439, dealing with cigarette, vapor product, and tobacco product policy, was amended and reported out with a do pass recommendation; the adopted amendments limited Consumer Protection Act enforcement to the Attorney General, adjusted coupon language, and restored state preemption over local retail regulation. HB 1078 on pet insurance, HB 1701 on shared liquor-license premises, HB 2207 on bonded beer warehousing, and HB 2501 on real estate oil-tank disclosure were all reported out with do pass recommendations, with HB 1701’s substitute removing a Public Records Act exemption and HB 2207’s substitute aligning beer warehousing more closely with spirits warehouse rules. HB 2361, which raises the maximum small loan amount, was amended to make inflation adjustments biennial and to change publication requirements, then passed out of committee. The committee also approved HB 1932, which would authorize cannabis consumption events in regulated environments. The substitute bill would create a cannabis consumption event organizer license, allow limited adult-use events subject to local approval, and establish permit and budtender training requirements; members discussed the bill as a way to provide lawful consumption spaces while others objected to expanding cannabis access. In the final votes, HB 2439 passed 12-3, HB 1078 passed unanimously, HB 1701 passed 14-1, HB 2207 passed 14-1, HB 2501 passed unanimously, HB 2361 passed 13-2, and HB 1932 passed 11-4, all with do pass recommendations.

Transcript Highlights:

• I think as you can see, the state direct to the DPP program is up. 294 1% of physicians.
• and other substances that give doctors and patients insight how a disease behaves and how best to treat
• And so you say, well, let's go on my 20 years of experience in treating this cancer.
• world practice, doctors have in their mind a differential diagnosis of what's happening and how to treat

Transcript Highlights:

• considering leaving state employment, one of the major issues that has come forward is the way the state treats
• I've been discouraged from fighting another round of ADA requests because of how I was treated, and I
• expanded these to the types of circumstances you're hearing today, denying all valid requests and treating
• Somehow with health care, if we could possibly have some type of physician wage increase or something

Committee: House House Government, Elections & Indian Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• They say you can judge a society on how they treat and keep their prisoners.
• Nobody deserves to be treated like this.
• We don't need to be treating them great."
• Injuries affect nurses, physicians, and other people that come into contact with not only patients but

Bills: HB1826 , HB2854 , HB3006 , HB4614 , HB5261 , HB5639

Committee: House Corrections

Keywords: mental health, women's health, county jail, depression screening, criminal justice, HB 2854, Pokuaa-Flowers Act, parole, mandatory supervision, electronic monitoring, releasee, parole officer, hospital visit approval, general hospital, law enforcement notification, DSHS, Department of State Health Services, corrections, public safety, liability immunity

Transcript Highlights:

• 8, a severe or life-threatening allergic reaction that can occur rapidly and can be fatal if not treated
• school classrooms and having that, they need and that again bringing in institution and kind of treating
• Andy, I'm a Christian mother of 4 and a retired physician and speaking in strong opposition to his Senate
• This bill is a much needed step towards equity efficiency and fairness and how charter schools are treated

Transcript Highlights:

• We used to kind of just treat a prison as a prison, and you had from a very high level of security need
• A very important idea is that both officers and incarcerated people should treat each other with respect
• I think Denise mentioned it about having the staff and the guys that are incarcerated treating each other
• I’m the physician today. James B. I believe is from Florida PBA. Yes. James, you’re recognized.

Committee: Senate Criminal Justice

Summary: The Senate Criminal Justice Committee met with Vice Chair Smith presiding in Chair Martin’s excused absence. After opening remarks from several senators, the committee heard a presentation from Department of Corrections Secretary Ricky Dixon on the state’s incentivized prisons program and related population-management efforts. Dixon said the department now operates eight incentivized prisons, which use enhanced privileges and programming for well-behaved inmates, and reported major reductions in disciplinary reports, staff assaults, inmate-on-inmate assaults, and uses of force compared with average institutions. He also described administrative management units for more disruptive inmates, short-sentence correctional institutions for those with less than a year to serve, and a reentry strategy that places inmates closer to home within 18 months of release. Dixon said Florida’s recidivism rate has fallen to about 21 percent, among the lowest in the nation, and emphasized that staffing, programming, and facility repairs remain ongoing needs. Committee members asked about access to education and workforce training, staffing levels, contraband, technology upgrades, heating and air-conditioning maintenance, and whether incentivized prisons could be expanded. Dixon said educational access is improving but remains limited by eligibility and staffing, that the incentivized facilities are at capacity, and that expansion depends on adding more administrative management unit beds. He also said the department is increasing use of technology, improving maintenance oversight, and continuing efforts to reduce contraband and improve staff recruitment and retention. Several senators praised the department’s work and urged more funding for prison infrastructure and officer pay. Public testimony largely supported the incentivized prisons model while calling for more seats, better staffing, and broader reforms. Family members of incarcerated people said the facilities were safer, more stable, and better for rehabilitation, though they asked for more programming, better treatment by staff, and clearer access to education and release-related opportunities. A Florida PBA representative emphasized that programs can only succeed with safe staffing levels and better pay and retention for correctional officers. No formal committee vote or bill action was taken, and the meeting ended after public testimony and closing remarks.