Transcript Highlights:

• Reading of the journal. Official Journal of the Senate.
• Senate Concurrent Resolutions on second reading.
• Senate Concurrent Resolutions on second reading.
• House bill's on second reading.
• And I move to read the next bill.

Bills: SCR12, HB1259, HB221, HB509, HCR117, HCR58, SCR29, SCR33, SB295, SB312, SB326, SB348, SB485, SCR9, SCR58, SB35, SB65, SB215, SB246, SB249, SB269, SB282, SB296, SB323, SB363, SB369, SB474, SB490, SB492, SB500, SB514, HCR32, HCR5, HCR95, HB75, HB198, HB244, HB302, HB325, HB623, HB719, HB749, HB755, HB761, HB797, HB823, HB1028, HB1049, HB1194, HB1199, HB1201, HB1222, HB17, HB27, HB36, HB41, HB73, HB140, HB166, HB181, HB211, HB223, HB226, HB271, HB308, HB337, HB399, HB410, HB487, HB690, HB712, HB730, HB750, HB759, HB762, HB775, HB906, HB966, HB968, HB1006, HB1009, HB1018, HB1036, HB1062, HB1081, HB1086, HB1098, HB1107, HB1112, HB1203, HB1215, HB1220, HB1242, HB1252, HB1256, SB208, SB217, SB274, SB283, SB300, SB341, SB382, SB387, SB389, SB401, SB408, SB449, SB469, HB74, HB119, HB134, HB368, HB414, HB552, HB732, HB776, HB848, HB870, HB953, HB956, HB1117, HB1236, SB29, SB42, SB43, SB78, SB149, SB441, HB210, HB258, HB359, HB468, HB784

Keywords: logging, recognition, John Keith, environment, safety, HB1259, mask penalty, masked felony, face covering, conceal identity, evade identification, sentencing enhancement, enhanced penalty, felony sentencing, crime deterrence, public safety, Louisiana criminal law, R.S. 14:313.2, R.S. 14:313, R.S. 14:329.7

Transcript Highlights:

• you And you're reading off a written testimony, you can provide that to us, and I promise you we read
• We will read it. You don't necessarily have to read it to us, so that is always available.
• read them to us.
• Let me read my—what I have. I don't know if you remember. Let me read my thing, what I have here.
• We will definitely read your testimony, so don't feel like you need to read your testimony.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The committee opened a hearing of the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure and reviewed a broad agenda including credit card fees, event ticketing, music therapy licensure, senior psychologist licensure, CPA pathways, school mental health licensure, and a bill regulating alternative healing therapies. The chairs explained hearing logistics, including three-minute testimony limits and submission of written testimony, and noted that more than 70 people had signed up to testify. Legislators and advocates were heard out of order throughout the day. A major portion of the hearing focused on credit card surcharge and interchange legislation. Restaurant owners, the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, NFIB, and other small-business witnesses supported bills allowing merchants to add convenience fees and, in one proposal, preventing card companies from charging fees on tax and tip portions of transactions. They argued that swipe fees are a major and growing cost, especially for restaurants, and that Massachusetts is one of only two states that bars surcharges. Opponents from the Cooperative Credit Union Association, the Electronic Payment Coalition, and the Electronic Transactions Association warned that the proposals would create compliance burdens, fragment the payment system, raise legal preemption issues, and disrupt a system they described as efficient and secure. The committee also heard competing testimony on ticket transferability and ticket resale. Supporters, including the National Consumers League and Sports Fans Coalition, said bills on ticket transferability would protect consumers who cannot attend events and would increase competition and savings in the secondary market. Opponents, including United Musicians and Allied Workers and theater owners, argued that mandatory transferability would weaken artists’ and venues’ ability to prevent scalping and predatory resale, and that some ticket sellers should be exempt from the broader ticketing regulations. Separate testimony supported music therapy licensure, senior psychologist licensure, and new CPA education pathways, with witnesses saying these measures would expand access to care and strengthen the workforce while maintaining professional standards. The hearing also drew extensive opposition to S.261 on alternative healing therapies, with practitioners and clients arguing it would overregulate spiritual and holistic practices and was not an effective response to human trafficking concerns.

Transcript Highlights:

• The chair lays out on second reading SB 14. The clerk will read the bill.
• The chair lays out on 2nd reading HB 12. The clerk will read the bill.
• Chair lays out a second reading House Bill 147. The clerk will read the bill.
• Chair lays out on 2nd reading House Bill 1522. The clerk will read the bell.
• Chair lays out on 2nd reading House Bill 204. The clerk will read the bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• I won't read the rest of the judge's order, but this is something that's very firmly on our radar right
• All of CMATC hides behind phone lines, computer screens, and even their public meetings.
• In the city of Roseville, where I'm licensed, I had to undergo the screening, the fingerprint screening
• Stacey Morrison, reading a statement on behalf of Elaine Cattel.
• I wanted to ask if I'm allowed to read something on behalf of another student who was not able to be

Summary: The joint sunset oversight hearing reviewed five regulatory entities: the Board of Behavioral Sciences, the Board of Psychology, the Physician Assistant Board, the Podiatric Medical Board, and the California Massage Therapy Council. Across the hearing, each entity described recent accomplishments, licensing and enforcement workload, workforce shortages, and efforts to modernize processes. Common themes included streamlining licensure, expanding access to care, addressing telehealth or emerging technology, and balancing consumer protection with workforce needs. For the Board of Behavioral Sciences, members discussed workforce shortages in mental health, supervision barriers, telehealth confidentiality, AI in therapy, interstate compacts, school-based services, and military spouse licensure. The board said it has expanded outreach, improved licensing processes, and created temporary practice authority tracking, while also expressing concern about counseling compacts and emphasizing California-specific law, ethics, and cultural competency. Public commenters supported the board’s work and the possible move to a national MFT exam, while also urging more resources. The Board of Psychology highlighted fee adjustments, streamlined licensure pathways, enforcement process improvements, new CPD requirements, and proposed changes including a psychotherapist-client privilege exception for investigations. Committee members and public witnesses focused heavily on that privilege proposal, with some members opposing it as too broad and privacy-invasive, while the board argued it is needed to obtain records in bias and sexual misconduct cases. The board also discussed workforce shortages, processing improvements, and the use of inactive status for psychological associates. The Physician Assistant Board reported growth in the PA workforce and education programs, SB 697 implementation, and financial pressure from rising enforcement costs. The main policy debate centered on physician-to-PA ratios and practice agreements, with board representatives and many public commenters arguing that current restrictions limit access to care, especially in rural areas, while the California Medical Association defended the need for explicit ratios and agreements. The board also discussed AI, fee increases, and tracking temporary practice authority. The Podiatric Medical Board described licensing and renewal reforms, residency expansion, enforcement support, and budget constraints, while public testimony raised concerns about a proposed fee increase and about reimbursement parity and practice recognition for podiatrists. Finally, the California Massage Therapy Council defended the certification model over licensure, citing lower costs, local government collaboration, anti-trafficking work, and its role in vetting applications and disciplining bad actors; no formal votes or final actions were taken during this portion of the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• I guess if you would be so kind, I read this bill and I really still don't understand what it does.
• Because I was looking at the screen and it was like it says 4300, but anyway, this is the one I had a

Bills: HB4422, HB4117, HB4300, HB4298, HB2984, HB3344

Keywords: immigration, public assistance, legal status, food assistance, state benefits, family resource center, community support, employment services, kinship families, social connections, child care, criminal history, background checks, child safety, licensing, Oklahoma laws, advisory committees, daycare, licensed child care facility, child care subsidy

Transcript Highlights:

• We were trying to get Miss Doyle's computer to be able to talk to that TV screen, and that's the reason
• We try to set up our presentations to where you can go back through and read through and get a lot more

Keywords: 923, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• readings or like like first readings readings or like like first readings like our first readings?
• Let me read it. Thank you. Read the Let me read it. Thank you. Read the title.
• President, I request the title be read. Secretary, read the be read. Secretary, read the be read.
• President Quest title be read. Secretary, read the title. read. Secretary, read the title. read.
• Title will be read. title will be read? Title will be read. title will be read? Title will be read.

Keywords: 920, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Again, I'm not going to read the slide to you, but there's been almost 52,000. eligible students that
• If I read it right, there are three nonprofit organizations that are explicitly listed here, Meadows
• Commissioner Young, did you read the words veterans?
• And states have a lot of tools. at their disposal, as you all know well, screenings on the front end,
• And I will read, and you and I spoke subsequently to me sending you this letter. Yes, sir. Yeah.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• All right, you're showing your votes on the board behind us, but not on our screens. All right.
• We're showing your votes on the board behind us, but not on our screens.
• Now it's on the screens. Computers are definitely a little sleepy today.

Keywords: House Committee Room B, General Assembly Building, 976, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• yes, we might pull those things, but as a worker, I'm having to look at, you know, ten different screens
• and enter in the information on one screen.
• modernization is really going to help where we can have that information automatically pulled into one screen

Transcript Highlights:

• Librarians cultivate a love for reading and provide access to vital resources.
• wanted to get a little bit of your thought process of why you added librarians. the importance of reading
• When my wife and I pack our children's lunches, we have... the luxury of being very careful and reading
• This bill incorporates regular reading and math screening. interventions for students in kindergarten
• It expands funded professional development for teachers in reading and math by paying them a stipend.

Bills: HB367, HB497, HB549, HB983, HB 1188, HB 1290, HB1368, HB2243, HB2310, HB2849, HB3099, HB3546, HB3629, HB3627

Keywords: education, absences, severe illness, life-threatening, school policy, verification, healthcare, insurance, affordability, coverage, patient rights, school health, respiratory distress, airway clearance devices, medication training, public health, HB 983, Texas Education Agency, TEA, educator privacy

Transcript Highlights:

• We will be having to go through a security screening process when we get to the court.
• Screening process when we get to the court.

Summary: The Civil Justice and Claims Subcommittee was called to order, roll was taken, and a quorum was present. Several members were noted as excused, and the chair reminded members to silence phones and be prepared for security screening before leaving for the court. The meeting was primarily an educational visit to the Florida Supreme Court. The chair explained that the committee had previously learned about trial courts and that this visit would focus on the appellate process, including the role of the Supreme Court as the state’s highest appellate court and the existence of intermediate appellate courts. She noted that parties may appeal civil trial outcomes or trial-court rulings to an appellate court. Members were instructed to bring photo identification, comply with prohibited-item rules, and follow court security procedures. Court marshals were to escort the group to the courthouse, and the meeting would adjourn after the tour without returning to the committee room.

Transcript Highlights:

• 00:17:34.200> some<00:17:34.360> testimony<00:17:34.800> I've<00:17:35.000> read
• <00:17:35.160> on Contrary to some testimony I've read on Contrary to some testimony I've
• read on this<00:17:35.480> measure, this measure, this measure, county<00:17:36.960> labor<
• Um we also level um in their reading.
• However, anything that will increase the pool and the potential, and then of course, we would screen

Bills: HB2614, HB1660, HB1704, HB1563, HB1573, HB1777, HB1749

Keywords: cosmetics, returns, refunds, consumer protection, high-pressure sales, transparency, accountability, HB1660, Hawaii, county labor standards, counties, contractors, building permits, permit denial, permit suspension, permit revocation, wage theft, wages, benefits, hours

Summary: The committee heard testimony on HB 2614, which would require merchants selling cosmetics to accept returns of newer unopened goods within specified time frames and expand signage requirements for return and refund policies. DCCA’s Office of Consumer Protection strongly supported the bill, citing updated figures of 180 cosmetic complaints from 2020 to 2025, 54 still under investigation, 148 referred to class action litigation, and more than $1.3 million in consumer losses. Members questioned whether the bill was needed given the pending lawsuit and whether bad actors would comply, while the office responded that clearer signage would improve consumer awareness and could reduce complaints without limiting other remedies. No vote was taken. The committee then heard HB 1660 HD1, which would allow counties to require contractors to disclose wage, benefit, hour, and employment-status information and to deny, revoke, or suspend permits for certain labor-law violations. DLIR, the Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters, Operating Engineers Local 3, and Pacific Resource Partnership testified in support, arguing the measure would help deter cheating contractors, protect law-abiding employers, and keep bad actors from undercutting wages and taxes. One member raised concerns about possible delays to affordable housing projects and whether owners should be held responsible for contractors’ misconduct; supporters replied that compliance is a minimum standard, that county action would be discretionary rather than automatic, and that the bill would not bar counties from working with affordable housing developers. No action was reported. Finally, the committee took up HB 1704, adopting the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact to allow telepsychology and temporary in-person practice across state lines. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the State Health Planning and Development Agency, the Hawaii State Association of Counties, and the Hawaii Association of Health Plans supported the measure, saying it would help fill major staffing gaps, especially for forensic evaluations and services in rural and neighbor-island communities. The Board of Psychology raised concerns about the compact’s scope, the need for a study focused specifically on psychologists, background-check requirements, possible loss of regulatory authority and revenue, and the need to update older statutory provisions. Hawaii Association for Justice opposed the immunity language in the compact, and Shawn Scanlon opposed the bill, arguing it could weaken cultural responsiveness and local control and suggesting the state instead improve temporary licensing and other in-state pathways. The committee also questioned the Department of Corrections about its vacancies and whether telehealth could be filled by local providers; no vote was taken in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• I've read about it. I'm kind of the new kid on the scene. It sounds great. It sounds lovely.
• I've read about it. I'm kind of the new kid on the scene. It sounds great. It sounds lovely.
• I've read about it. I'm kind of the new kid on the scene. It sounds great. It sounds lovely.
• Thank you so much, Vice Chair, for reading the entire description.
• because that's federal law so screening because that's federal law so this<02:07:51.880> allows

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Second reading of bills.
• In relevant part, on this bill, it reads...
• This is not a third-read vote.
• The clerk will read the report. Mr.
• Third reading of bills. House Bill 251.

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• > um<00:15:51.600> but<00:15:51.839> I<00:15:52.560> just read them through
• you um but I just read them through you um but I just point<00:15:52.959> you<00:15:53.120>
• I don't need to read those for you. There are a number of those pending adequate revenue.
• I note a couple: the newborn screening funding, RSA 132-A:10, specifically notes that newborn screening
• 50:30.560> program finally, our newborn screening program finally, our newborn screening program

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I don't read all my notes in thanking Chair Kilcoyne for organizing today's hearing as the lead chair
• You have my extensive written testimony, so I'll not read it word for word.
• You have my extensive written testimony, so I'll not read it word for word for you, but rather walk you
• He then shifted to the federal "big beautiful bill" and said Massachusetts is on the radar screen of
• And we've read in the media that we've had some back and forth.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Ways and Means held a Health and Human Services budget hearing in Clinton, with opening remarks from Chairs Meg Kilcoyne and Robin Kennedy, local officials, and many House and Senate members introducing themselves. The hearing focused on Governor Healey’s FY27 EOHHS and MassHealth budgets, with repeated themes of rising health care costs, federal funding uncertainty, workforce shortages, and access to care in underserved regions. Members also raised concerns about primary care shortages, rural and regional disparities, behavioral health access, maternal health, food insecurity, and the impact of federal policy changes on Massachusetts programs. EOHHS Secretary Kiame Mahaniah said the FY27 EOHHS budget totals $33.7 billion, reflecting mostly non-discretionary growth from health care costs, labor costs, caseload increases, and provider rate pressures. He highlighted targeted investments in foster care, family resource centers, maternal health, youth services, nutrition programs, immigrant legal services, and human service workforce rates, while warning that federal actions could strip roughly $3.5 billion annually from the state’s health care funding. In response to questions, he defended the administration’s cooperation with federal audits and program integrity efforts, discussed the primary care crisis, and said the state is trying to preserve core services while preparing for a more difficult FY28 budget cycle. MassHealth Undersecretary Mike Levine then described two major FY27 challenges: double-digit cost growth and the expected effects of the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act. He said MassHealth’s proposed $22.7 billion gross budget includes a 7.5% increase and relies on a moratorium on new expansions plus targeted reductions, including a $1,000 annual adult dental cap, ending GLP-1 coverage for weight loss only, reducing care management to peer-state levels, and work groups to slow growth in PCA, adult foster care, and adult day health spending. Members questioned the impact on Boston Health Care for the Homeless, preventive care, and regional access; Levine said the changes are meant to preserve sustainability, that children and certain disabled populations remain protected, and that the administration will continue working with providers, advocates, and the Legislature on implementation and longer-term reforms.

Transcript Highlights:

• On the PFC bill, I'm not going to read my statement to you because I think that's redundant and a waste
• Morales' testimony is properly read into the record.
• Political subdivisions... ...would be required to provide these screenings to firefighters during the
• No, I believe I remember reading about it, but I don't remember their percentage.
• You know, I'm in law school, which means I'm reading way more cases than I should for fun.

Bills: HB21, HB211, HB223, HB323, HB524, HB530, HB636, HB762, HB21, HB211, HB223

Keywords: housing finance, multifamily residential, low income, tax exemption, audit requirements, affordable housing, local government, development bonds, housing assistance, financial assistance, low income housing, community support, affordability, veterans housing, community involvement, air conditioning, tenant support, healthcare, elderly, taxation

Transcript Highlights:

• Reading of the Journal. Reading of the Journal.
• Senate Resolution on second reading.
• You made that change in the conference screening report, didn't you? Or am I reading that wrong?

Bills: SCR12, HB221, HB509, HCR58, SB78, SB25, SB80, SB132, SB155, SB157, SB202, SB228, SB250, SB414, SB433, SB479, SB513, SCR9, SCR58, SB65, SB215, SB249, SB269, SB282, SB296, SB323, SB363, SB369, SB474, SB490, SB492, SB500, SB514, HCR32, HB17, HB41, HB73, HB223, HB244, HB759, HB906, HB966, HB1006, HB1009, HB1086, HB1107, HB1112, HB1215, HB1242, SB217, SB283, SB469, HB36, HB42, HB74, HB119, HB159, HB259, HB302, HB414, HB459, HB776, HB848, HB956, HB1017, HB1028, HB1095, SB208, SB312, SB382, SB389, HB210, HB258, HB359, HB368, HB468, HB552, HB732, HB784, HB870, HB953, HB1117, HB1236

Keywords: logging, recognition, John Keith, environment, safety, Mississippi River bridge, Trump Expressway, transportation, federal funding, Louisiana highways, injection wells, public hearing, geologic sequestration, environmental impact, public comment, Ascension Parish, state capitol, economic development, community partnership, celebration day

Transcript Highlights:

• Seat time at school, screen time at home. Have your kids had a blood test recently?
• knowledge and ideas available so that people, including children, have the freedom to choose what to read
• As a parent, I have the right to guide my children's reading, but parents should not be making decisions
• Specifically, a small group of parents should not dictate what books other people's children are allowed to read
• We also just saw—there's another one that you could read in our report that's on our website—but I want

Bills: HB2008, HB2075, HB2203, HB2395, HB2409

Keywords: school libraries, public school libraries, library funding, professional associations, library associations, librarians, information services, dues, membership fees, public monies, school governing body, county free library district, municipal library, library contracts, library services, books and programs, Arizona education, Title 15, Library Freedom Act, school district transparency