Transcript Highlights:

• It requires physicians to obtain approval before prescribed treatment, test, or medical service will
• It's did you do the test for diabetes? It isn't in the paperwork, and that's what we check and see.
• I worked for the local nursing home, and I had to be tested once to twice a week.
• I worked for the local nursing home, and I had to be tested once to twice a week. Oh, pardon me.
• You come out with a better result, and you're more functional.

Bills: SB227, SB269, SB407, SB463, SB527, SB547, SB1283, SB1380, SB1383, SB1511, SB1640, SB1784, SB2069

Keywords: school funding, education reform, state budget, property taxes, equity in education, healthcare policy, vaccines, exemptions, religious beliefs, public health, workplace violence, healthcare facilities, definition expansion, safety regulations, health and safety code, health insurance, anesthesia, pediatric dental services, coverage, medical necessity

Summary: The Senate Committee on Health and Human Services met with several members initially absent, then later established a quorum. The committee heard multiple bills, with most testimony focusing on access to care, insurance practices, senior safety, and health care worker protections. Several bills were laid out with committee substitutes, and public testimony was limited to two minutes per witness. Most bills were left pending after testimony, with no final votes taken in the portion provided. Senate Bill 2069 would create a work group to study the feasibility of a statewide acute psychiatric bed registry; the substitute shifts appointment authority to the Health and Human Services Commissioner and extends reporting and sunset dates. Senate Bill 463 would expand workplace violence protections to additional hospice, home and community support, intermediate care, and state-supported living center settings. Senate Bill 1283 would require background checks and transparency measures for senior retirement communities after testimony about the Dallas-area serial killings of elderly residents. Senate Bill 1784 would require 60 days’ written notice before medical debt is sent to collections. Senate Bill 527 would require medical insurance coverage for general anesthesia for medically necessary pediatric dental procedures for children under 13 with qualifying conditions; pediatric dentists testified that denials delay needed care. A major portion of the meeting centered on prior authorization. Senate Bill 1380 would eliminate prior authorization for a broad list of services, including emergency, primary, mental health, substance use, chemotherapy, preventive, pediatric hospice, and certain chronic-condition care. Physicians and hospice advocates supported the bill, describing delays, administrative burden, and patient harm, while health plans opposed blanket exemptions and argued prior authorization helps prevent unnecessary care and control costs. Relatedly, Senate Bill 547 would require insurers to report gold-card prior authorization exemptions to TDI and create a centralized database and annual report; TMA supported better tracking, while health plans warned of duplicative reporting and administrative cost. Senate Bill 407 would require health care facilities to honor conscience- and religion-based vaccine exemptions for employees, with testimony from a physician and vaccine-choice advocate supporting the bill. The committee also heard Senate Bill 1383, which would regulate senior living referral agencies, allow more flexible compensation structures, and add disclosure and consumer protections; an out-of-state referral company and A Place for Mom supported it. Senate Bill 1511 would allow freestanding emergency centers to provide outpatient services in addition to emergency care, with consumer protections such as estimates, limits on facility fees, and restrictions on balance billing. The chair repeatedly announced that bills were being left pending after testimony, and no final committee action or recorded votes were taken in the transcript provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• It has the access and functionality things we need."
• <00:17:31.280> we access and functionality things we access and functionality things we need
• It's a format that you can put your information on, especially access and functional needs.
• I asked DOH to have air quality testing that is going unanswered.
• I asked DOH to have air quality testing that is going unanswered.

Bills: SCR180

Keywords: wildfire, fire hazard, Lahaina, West Maui, Maui wildfire, vegetation management, fuel reduction, defensible space, fuel breaks, invasive grasses, emergency access, evacuation route, fire lane, state lands, public safety, Office of the State Fire Marshal, community risk reduction, hazard mitigation, brush clearance, wildland-urban interface

Summary: The committee opened by noting it was likely its last hearing of the 2026 session, then took up several resolutions. SCR 54, on appointing a hydrogen fire safety expert and training on hydrogen-related protocols, and SCR 59, on allowing certain health care professionals to practice without a license during a state of emergency, drew no testimony. Members discussed SCR 59 as a response to past emergencies and the need for pre-approved, updated registries of professionals who could be deployed quickly in emergencies. SCR 62 SD1, which asks the 911 Board to form a working group with the disability community to address access issues in emergency and 911 responses, received testimony from disability advocates and the 911 Board. Testifiers said the measure should ensure an integrated system with EMS infrastructure, real-time access for dispatchers and field personnel, and public education about the system; they also noted that Smart911 is no longer being used on Oahu and Maui and that a statewide, integrated approach is needed. Members agreed to work the suggested language into the resolution. SCR 179, urging Maui County to enforce fire code provisions on brush clearance, fuel breaks, roadside vegetation clearing, and emergency access, was noted as having no testimony but continuing to raise important issues. SCR 74, calling for an audit of no-bid contracts issued under emergency proclamations from 2020 through 2025, drew strong support from a late testifier who tied the measure to emergency procurement concerns after the Lahaina wildfire and COVID-era contracting. The witness argued that procurement rules should not be waived in ways that compromise safety, and described concerns about unlicensed contractors and construction problems in a state housing project. Members asked about the scope of the audit and whether it would interfere with criminal investigations; the witness said the audit should cover a broad range of contracts, including nonprofit contracts, and should not be limited to the wildfire period. The committee also heard SCR 28 SD1 on creating a Hawaii Vietnam Veterans Medal, with support from the Department of Defense and veterans advocates, who said the resolution is intended to do the groundwork for a future appropriation and to determine eligibility and distribution procedures. Finally, SCR 60 SD1, requesting updates on the “Breaking Cycles” rehabilitation and restorative justice study, received support from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Correctional System Oversight Commission, and reform advocates. The department asked that reporting be annual rather than quarterly because of the complexity of the OCCC project, and supporters said the measure would promote transparency and help ensure the study’s recommendations are implemented. No votes were taken in the portion of the hearing provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• make sure that it is functioning make sure that it is functioning efficiently<00:53:44.520> and
• pit in in a in a limited you did a test pit in in a in a limited area<02:08:41.400> of<02:08:
• And what this says is that one test site is going to be the maximum seepage velocity, and so it makes
• site in the disposal area so any test site in the disposal area so that's<02:25:28.960> basically
• So that should be taken into consideration when applying that. says is that one test site is going to

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This has to do with the objective test that is mentioned that's new.
• Patients avoid delay, repeated tests, or confusion during critical moments.
• He said, we're going to do the test again. He said, we're going to do the test again.
• They did the test again, and I was having a heart attack.
• , and use... ...the Canvas test, so I know that that's all in the works.

Bills: AB568, SB90, SB133, SB147, SB229, SB233, SB240, SB245, SB280, SB378, SB393, SB417, SB434, SB494, SB495

Keywords: higher education, Nevada System of Higher Education, operational expenses, instructional expenses, public funding, education funding, teacher grants, classroom supplies, instructional support, specialized personnel, civics education, Nevada Center for Civic Engagement, funding, youth programs, civic involvement, Southern Nevada, Clark County, Las Vegas Valley, regional planning, economic resiliency

Transcript Highlights:

• Health and safety aspects, so a carbon monoxide detector for testing for gas leaks and other health and
• So, I think that's an approach we need to think about strongly consider cuz it's been tried and tested
• So, I think that's an approach we need to think about strongly consider cuz it's been tried and tested
• So, I think that's an approach we need to think about strongly consider cuz it's been tried and tested
• And tested over the years.

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00:00 Attendance Roll Call 00:00:26 Approval of Minutes 00:02:27 LIHEAP Presentation and Public Hearing 00:02:42 Conservation Opportunities in Kentucky 00:29:52, 958, all

Summary: The committee first took up a public hearing and presentation on the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Shannon Hall of the Department for Community Based Services and Rick Baker of Community Action Kentucky explained that LIHEAP is a 100% federally funded block grant that helps low-income households pay heating and cooling bills, avoid utility disconnects, and support weatherization. They outlined the program’s components, eligibility limits, seasonal application periods, and recent participation figures, including tens of thousands of households served through the summer cooling, fall subsidy, winter crisis, and spring subsidy components. They also described weatherization priorities, the partnership with Kentucky Housing Corporation, and the role of Community Action agencies in administering the program statewide. Members asked about Assurance 16, the balance between need and available funding, summer cooling assistance, weatherization measurement, renter versus homeowner participation, and whether federal changes could affect LIHEAP. Hall and Baker said Assurance 16 supports energy-burden reduction through education, case management, and conservation strategies; that funding has generally been sufficient in recent years but crisis funds have sometimes been exhausted quickly in the past; and that summer assistance is primarily electric utility support. They also said weatherization uses return-on-investment testing and that Kentucky still has a large backlog of homes needing service. On federal funding, they said the recently passed federal bill did not directly cut LIHEAP, but future appropriations could still affect it, and any major reduction could leave a gap the state might need to consider filling. The committee approved the minutes and later approved the LIHEAP finding of fact; no members of the public signed up to testify. After concluding LIHEAP, the committee heard a presentation from Heather Jeff of The Nature Conservancy on conservation opportunities in Kentucky. She described the organization’s voluntary land-protection work and highlighted the Cumberland Forest project, a conservation easement on about 55,000 acres in Bell, Knox, and Leslie counties supported in part by a $3.875 million state appropriation. She also reported on mine-land reforestation, elk habitat work, and the rapid allocation of a $2 million appropriation for the Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund. Jeff emphasized the economic value of conservation for tourism, hunting and fishing, agriculture, forestry, bourbon, and flood protection, and said the group is finalizing a Kentucky conservation needs assessment and related feasibility research.

Transcript Highlights:

• This funding provides an immediate impact to keep our shelters functioning while we work to increase
• This funding provides an immediate impact to keep our shelters functioning while we work to increase
• This funding provides an immediate impact to keep our shelters functioning while we work to increase
• One other thing I would mention is we have a lot of educational content, including test prep for the
• be something on a standardized test be something on a standardized test whether<01:43:36.360>

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• the state, as we were just talking about in order to provide the fuel, in order to make society function
• I am a founding member of the Latino Action Network, and I am test...
• For instance, A403 covers online service and applications whose primary function is to connect covered
• Assembly Bill 5062 requires health insurance to Medicaid coverage for testing and treatments to slow
• With biomarker testing and the medical necessity issue that is in that law, it is for folks that are.

Keywords: 1146, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The Office of Higher Education, this slide lists quickly some of their main functions.
• The University of Minnesota, of course, has its role of educating students, and it has a special function
• And thank you to the test. Yeah, it is good.
• thank<00:53:53.720> you<00:53:53.839> to<00:53:54.079> the<00:53:54.680> test
• <00:53:55.680> yeah chair and thank you to the test yeah chair and thank you to the test yeah

Keywords: 1183, house

Summary: The Higher Ed Finance and Policy Committee met to begin a budget overview for higher education. The chair noted quorum, committee member introductions, and that Democratic members were absent. The chair also said the Office of Higher Education would not be appearing for the planned budget deep dive, so nonpartisan fiscal staff would present instead. Ken Savory, the committee’s nonpartisan fiscal analyst, introduced a presentation on the higher education finance structure and timeline. Savory explained the state budget cycle, the difference between direct appropriations, statutory appropriations, open appropriations, base funding, tails, and one-time appropriations, and how those concepts apply to higher education. He described the committee’s usual budget areas: the Office of Higher Education, Minnesota State, the University of Minnesota, and the Mayo Foundation. He also reviewed historical spending charts showing higher education’s share of the general fund over time, the 2/3-1/3 funding policy in statute, and how tuition and general fund support have shifted. He noted that the FY 26-27 base for the Office of Higher Education area is about $725 million, including roughly $450 million for the State Grant program and about $99 million for North Star Promise. Members asked about comparing the current budget to earlier biennia, and staff responded that they would need to calculate the percentage difference. The chair then summarized prior budget growth, saying the previous budget was about $650 million over base and the current budget/tail was about $450 million over base. Staff also reviewed the 2024 omnibus higher education bill, including a roughly $5 million reduction to North Star Promise that was redirected to the Fostering Independence Grant program and a $500,000 appropriation for Minnesota State’s Kids on Campus program. The committee did not take any formal votes or actions during this portion of the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• Similarly, for R&D, when designing prototypes and testing, access to tissue is paramount as it mimics
• You can't do any of the proper testing that you would want them to do or need to do.
• So rapidly that one test in time in a physician's career was insufficient to prove to patients and to
• The loss of pressure on a physician was significant; it was a pass-fail test.
• I'm fundamentally opposed to standardized tests, so I would never sit for a board... Certification.

Bills: SB2024, SB227, SB268, SB1467, SB1580, HB5537, SB1313, SB1677, SB918, SB331, SB2207, SB2721

Keywords: e-cigarettes, marketing prohibition, youth protection, criminal penalties, public health, school funding, education reform, state budget, property taxes, equity in education, health care, licensing, complaint procedure, disciplinary action, law enforcement, death records, vital statistics, healthcare, trauma facility, Medicaid

Transcript Highlights:

• She began her career in the Secretary's office and is well-versed in the integral functions of that office
• That's the litmus test. That's the mandate. So as That's the litmus test. That's the mandate.
• Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first and the lesson after.
• part of that job interview, and without advanced warning, he was asked to complete a physical fitness test

Summary: The Florida Senate convened for its organizational session with prayer, presentation of colors, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the national anthem, followed by a moment of silence for the mother of Senator Fine. The chamber then received special guests and administered oaths to newly elected senators after reading certificates of election from the Secretary of State. Tracy Campbell Cantella was nominated and unanimously elected Secretary of the Senate, then sworn in. Ben Albritton was nominated, seconded, and elected as President of the Senate for the 2024–2026 term, and Jason Brodeur was later nominated, seconded, and elected President Pro Tempore. Both leaders were sworn in and delivered extended remarks about faith, service, Florida’s economy and education, hurricane recovery, insurance, rural communities, agriculture, water quality, Israel, veterans, and the need for data-driven, accountable government. After the leadership elections, the Senate adopted its rules for the new term and authorized the Secretary to make technical and conforming changes. The chamber also adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 2-O-RG, which establishes the joint rules of the Florida Legislature for 2024–26. A committee was appointed to notify the House that the Senate had convened for organization, and the committee later reported back that the House had been informed. The Senate then received a communication from the Democratic caucus certifying that Senator Jason Pizzo was elected Democratic leader and Senator Tracie Davis Democratic leader pro tempore for the term. The session included additional remarks recognizing Senate staff and security personnel, as well as tributes to the late John Pasidomo and a moment of silence for him. The meeting concluded with a performance of “Amazing Grace,” brief closing comments, and an attempted motion to adjourn sine die that was briefly tabled until the House confirmed it was convened and ready to transact business. The Senate then adjourned sine die.

Transcript Highlights:

• Italian chief and with a separate function of emergency management coordinator.
• Y'all do an actual... test once a year, or you just do tabletops and exercises?
• Its functions include testing for water quality, water levels, encouraging conservation, and the protection
• Everyone knew that sound because they tested them monthly. They drilled.
• They test them once a month. They work like a charm. We're 135. square mile city.

Keywords: 997, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <01:00:59.039> to<01:00:59.240> our functional to our functional to our municipalities<
• that they have seen this ATT testing that they have seen this person<01:54:45.119> live<01:54
• We fully support that and support the efforts to reduce homelessness and functionally on that in New
• We fully support that and support the efforts to reduce homelessness and functionally on that in New
• A land use board has a specific function: it deals with land use.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I wanted to test. Right. Increases are impacting immigrants.
• This is not a functioning or fair market.
• It recognizes that a functional housing market depends on balance.
• Rent fixing is an existential threat to the fair function of housing markets.
• Rent fixing is an existential threat to the fair function of housing markets.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Housing held a hybrid hearing on a broad slate of landlord-tenant and home rule bills, with most testimony focused on rent stabilization, tenant opportunity to purchase (TOPA), tenant fees, access to counsel, algorithmic rent fixing, and tenant protections in subsidized housing. Chairs Cyr and Haggerty outlined the hearing procedures and noted that written testimony could also be submitted. Several members and invited speakers emphasized that the committee was hearing from both local officials and residents affected by housing instability, especially in Somerville and other communities facing high rents and displacement. Supporters of rent stabilization and local-option rent control argued that Massachusetts needs tools to prevent displacement while new housing is built. Senator Eldridge, Senator Jalen, Somerville officials, tenant organizers, and residents described steep rent increases, no-fault evictions, and the loss of naturally occurring affordable housing. Somerville’s home rule petition was described as allowing annual increases tied to CPI plus 2%, capped at 5%, with exemptions for owner-occupied two- and three-family homes and a 15-year exemption for new construction. TOPA supporters said it would let tenants or their designees buy buildings before speculative buyers, preserving affordable housing stock; opponents, including small landlords and property managers, argued rent control would reduce supply, discourage investment, and that TOPA could delay sales and harm properties. The committee also heard testimony on bills to curb junk fees and regulate tenant charges, including limits on late fees, lease renewal fees, payment portal fees, attorney’s fees, and other add-on charges. Advocates said these fees can add hundreds of dollars a month and disproportionately harm low-income renters and renters of color. Another major topic was algorithmic rent fixing: Senator Moore and Representative Sabadoza said landlords should not use software such as RealPage to coordinate pricing, citing federal antitrust actions and arguing that competition is essential to lowering rents. Additional testimony supported a statewide right to counsel in eviction cases, with legal services providers saying representation dramatically improves outcomes and can save the state money, and a bill to create an office of tenant protections to better enforce sanitary code violations. No votes or final actions were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• laboratories that do testing.
• laboratories that do testing.
• laboratories that do testing.
• laboratories that do testing.
• laboratories that do testing.

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Then you have a service-level assessment, and you have to meet a certain level of functional need for
• With this new 1915(c), we could have a lower functional eligibility than institution.
• So just taking a step back, length of stay is a function of the sentence, right? Yeah.
• So just taking a step back, length of stay is a function of the sentence. Right. Yeah.
• It is a function of a policy choice by the legislature, correct?

Summary: The committee heard testimony on the effects of H.R. 1 on Washington’s Medicaid, developmental disability, long-term care, and food assistance systems, followed by a separate discussion of juvenile rehabilitation caseloads and placement capacity. DSHS officials said HR1 could affect home equity rules, immigration-related eligibility, work requirements for some expansion-population enrollees, and provider taxes, while also creating a future opportunity for a new 1915(c) waiver. Advocates and providers warned that any state response that cuts home and community-based services would worsen already thin provider networks, increase waiting lists, push more people into hospitals or out-of-state placements, and strain families and workers. A pediatric behavioral health expert and a supported living provider said Medicaid reimbursement is already too low and further reductions would threaten outpatient, residential, and inpatient services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and severe behavioral needs. The committee then turned to SNAP and the state food assistance program. DSHS said HR1 would tighten work requirements and exemptions, end some immigrant eligibility for the federal program, eliminate the SNAP education program, raise state administrative costs, and eventually require Washington to share in benefit costs based on its error rate. Officials estimated large numbers of residents could lose or see reduced benefits, with significant added state costs. Anti-hunger advocates, a food bank director, and a SNAP recipient described the program as essential for low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities, and said the changes would increase paperwork, reduce benefits, and worsen food insecurity while also harming local food economies. Testimony emphasized that food banks cannot replace SNAP and that work requirements may be difficult to meet for caregivers, people with disabilities, and those facing child care or transportation barriers. In the juvenile justice portion, the Caseload Forecast Council presented the JR forecast, which is currently mostly flat through the end of the biennium but expected to grow modestly over the longer term. Members discussed how policy choices, including the 2019 JR-25 law, have increased lengths of stay for adult-sentenced youth in JR, while diversion and other reforms have affected regular JR trends. A court researcher explained the data available to help forecast admissions and noted ongoing efforts to improve data sharing with JR, AOC, and county systems, though staffing and system-lag issues limit how quickly data can be produced. Juvenile court administrators and DCYF officials described the community-based juvenile justice continuum, rising complexity in the JR population, overcrowding at Green Hill and placement constraints at Echo Glen and Harbor Heights, and the need for more flexible community transition and mental health capacity. No votes were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• Um any other test uh Senator? Quaid. Um any other test uh Senator? Senator<00:25:32.480> Lang.
• One other new function I wanted to point out to you in recent years.
• <01:03:41.200> So,<01:03:41.440> things administrative functions.
• So, things administrative functions.
• we cover the cost so you can function we cover the cost so you can function properly.<01:20:14.640

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And that is functionally what the bill would do for educators.
• And that is functionally what the bill would do for educators.
• And that is functionally what the bill would do for educators.
• And that is functionally what the bill would do for educators.
• So while it would function labor unions.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• These Ideals have withstood the test of time, and the sorority has embodied these principles, which are
• When the test is actually taken. Thank you very much for the question.
• And if the chemical test occurs well after the stop, will prosecutors be required to present retrograde
• Does this bill set any outer limit on how long after driving a chemical test may be taken and still be
• With a reasonable exception when timing or timely testing is impossible. Right.

Bills: SCR17, SB2104, SB2155, SB1428, SB1250, SB1651, SB1794, SB444, SB1061, SB1327, SB1425, SB1455, SB1458, SB1460, SB1480, SB1530, SB1543, SB1555, SB1593, SB1209, SB1730, SB1733, SB1769, SB1805, SB2069, SB2095, SB1503

Keywords: trusts, Oklahoma Uniform Trust Code, trust administration, trustee, beneficiary, qualified beneficiary, nonjudicial settlement agreement, trust accounting, fiduciary duty, forfeiture clause, no-contest clause, in terrorem clause, certification of trust, trust property, district court jurisdiction, venue, surcharge trustee, trust protector, trust advisor, principal distribution

Transcript Highlights:

• But that's another thing: can get doctors and nurses because the testing is money.
• And if they need him to take tests, they enter it into the computer.
• And if they need him to take tests, they enter it into the computer. They don't call somebody.
• They don't hand them a piece of paper and say, go and get these tests.
• We know where to go to get those tests.

Bills: SB37, SB29

Keywords: high-quality literacy instruction, science of reading, structured literacy, reading instruction, literacy assessment, dyslexia screening, phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, biliteracy, English language learner, ELL, bilingual education, dual language program, reading intervention, reading difficulty, reading improvement plan, literacy coach

Transcript Highlights:

• Thank you for your test. testimony. Dr. Chevalier. Correct. Good morning, Chairman Craitor.
• process information and Yet at the time, even with my position, the state law did not allow him to be tested
• Maybe some less tests that they have to go through in order to get certified as well.
• What, you know, is it an academic, is it behavioral, is it... independent functioning type skill and,
• If you look at the passing rate for all tests and reading in ELA in our district, we're way above the

Bills: SB568, SCR5, SB57, SB1447, SB27, SB24

Keywords: special education, funding, individualized education program, visual impairments, accessibility, support services, state education code, SCR 5, Senate Concurrent Resolution 5, Texas School for the Deaf, TSD, Robert Rives, gymnasium naming, building naming, honorary resolution, commemorative resolution, deaf education, hard of hearing, Gallaudet University, alumni hall of fame