Transcript Highlights:

• :02:22.640> of Reading correction and approval of Reading correction and approval of journal.<
• read and recommends that it be approved. read and recommends that it be approved.
• This last and approved by the electors.
• project without any real voter approval project without any real voter approval to<01:09:14.239>
• . judiciously. judiciously.

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Members, this is Senator Menendez's bill relating to judicial training requirements regarding elder abuse
• as a companion, but we're, um, essentially putting our language onto this one and the, with the approval
• Under, under current law, indigent persons in family court are appointed from a list of approved attorneys
• The way I read the bill, the judge doesn't have Any latitude, but to approve the motion for the change
• That's that's what I meant, but, but it says the court has to approve it though.

Transcript Highlights:

• <01:23:38.560> by budget to be calculated and approved by budget to be calculated and approved
• <01:24:34.800> appropriations and previously approved appropriations and previously approved
• appropriations approved by the legislative body.
• appropriations approved by the legislative body.
• wanted to say there could be judicial wanted to say there could be judicial oversight,<01:31:45.920

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:03:56.080> branch we have someone from the judicial branch we have someone from the judicial
• if anybody from the judicial if anybody from the judicial branch,<00:04:16.000> Chief<00:
• Um you the Minnesota Judicial Branch.
• Board of Judicial Standards.
• Board of judicial standards. concurs. Board of judicial standards.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, we are going to move on to the approval of the minutes from our last meeting.
• Do I have a motion to approve the minutes? So moved. The minutes rather, not the meetings.
• The minutes are approved. All in favor? Aye. Just one.
• I think everybody approved. That's great. Those are approved. Perfect. All right.
• things without approval. things without approval.

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00:00 Commonwealth Office of Technology 00:01:00 Department of Education 00:21:00 Transportation Cabinet 00:35:30 Secretary of State 00:45:15 Cabinet for Health and Family Services 00:56:11 Discussion of the Kentucky Communications Network Authority and Related legislation 01:09:11, 958, all

Summary: The meeting began with approval of the prior minutes and then focused first on the Commonwealth Office of Technology’s legacy systems and two specific projects. COT officials said many agencies have made progress moving off legacy applications, with remaining mainframe systems slated to be retired through RFPs or other work orders. They also described a legacy funding pool of $10 million per biennium used to help agencies transition. The two projects discussed were the Kentucky aerial photography and elevation data program, which provides statewide aerial imagery and lidar data for GIS, E911, environmental, transportation, and other uses, and a citizen identity and access management system intended to give residents a single login for state services. Officials said the GIS program costs about $1.2 million annually to host and maintain, with data acquisition costing several million more per year, and that the citizen identity system would cost about $2.5 million per year after an initial three-year COT investment. Members asked about duplication of funding, licensing, local government use, and whether multi-factor authentication would be required; COT said the GIS data is being acquired as statewide unlicensed data and that MFA would be available but not yet mandated statewide. Committee members pressed COT on costs, overlap with cabinet-level IT spending, and the practical benefits of the GIS and identity projects. COT explained that GIS hosting is generally covered through enterprise assessments billed quarterly to agencies, while the new aerial data is intended to benefit the whole state and local partners. On the identity project, officials said it would centralize authentication for citizens who use state systems, improve compliance with zero-trust and NIST-related security expectations, and reduce help desk and maintenance burdens through self-service account tools. Members also discussed whether the system would extend to local governments; COT said it would be a Kentucky.gov-style state login for users inside the state identity infrastructure, not a local-government system. The Department of Education then testified that it does not operate mainframes or major legacy systems, having moved long ago to cloud-based, off-the-shelf products and vendor-supported services. KDE officials described a strong emphasis on staff cybersecurity awareness, standardized statewide systems, vendor risk-sharing, and reducing sensitive data exposure, including efforts to move away from student Social Security numbers. They also highlighted a transition from Microsoft Active Directory to Identity Automation, which they said will improve identity management and make multi-factor authentication universal across K-12. In response to questions about Kentucky Wired and internet service, KDE said all 171 school districts and KDE agencies have been moved to a new next-generation internet service through ENA by Zayo, with strong satisfaction, e-rate savings, and better reliability. Officials warned that any internet disruption would immediately affect attendance, grades, student records, payroll, security systems, and communications across the K-12 system.

Transcript Highlights:

• This was a judicially created element of self-defense.
• This was judicially created element of self-defense.
• lesson about common law and how judicial lesson about common law and how judicial common<00:26:22.360
• Yes, the old standard, not written but judicially imposed, says you have a duty to retreat.
• Yes, the old standard, not written but judicially imposed, says you have a duty to retreat.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• and judicial branches of the state government shall enforce the compact.
• Their own judicial branch on their taxpayer dime. So these appeals are made in D.C.
• And our judicial branch must defend the compact.
• If you look at somebody talked about judicial enforcement, if you look at the other nine occupational
• Like with any state statute, the executive branch is tasked with implementing, and the judicial branch

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• However, I don't see a judicial review or some appeal process for if it's been expunged or pardoned and
• But if it's some other thing like a discharge, there's no way to get a judicial appeal on that.
• to<00:02:20.720> uh<00:02:21.040> get<00:02:21.200> a<00:02:21.360> judicial
• there's no way to uh get a judicial there's no way to uh get a judicial appeal<00:02:22.239>

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• This was a judicially created element of self-defense.
• lesson here: our Constitution sets forth three branches of government: legislative, executive, and judicial
• The executive branch enforces the laws, and the judicial branch interprets the laws.
• the separation of powers, and I want to give a brief law school lesson about common law and how judicial
• Yes, the old standard, not written but judicially imposed, says you have a duty to retreat.

Transcript Highlights:

• And the first thing we have to do is we have to have a motion to accept the minutes, approve the minutes
• talk to us a little bit about child... to do is we have to have a motion to accept the meetings, approve
• at least annually we bring to our state board, because our state board goes through the process to approve
• The legislative branch can't determine that, only the judicial branch can.
• The legislative branch can't determine that, only the judicial branch can.

Summary: The meeting began with approval of the prior minutes and then shifted to an update from Department of Education Secretary Jacob Oliva and Deputy Commissioner Stacey Smith on early childhood education, especially the state-funded Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) program. They said Arkansas had received a federal Preschool Development Grant and described ABC as a large state program with about 23,800 funded slots and roughly $114 million in annual appropriations. Department officials said they are reviewing slot allocations because about 1,000 seats are funded but unfilled, while more than 2,000 families are on waiting lists, and they plan to reduce or reallocate slots from providers that have not filled them over several years. They also said they are examining whether income thresholds, curriculum expectations, daily rates, and summer programming should be updated, and members raised concerns about access, local control, transportation, and whether the program should better align with K-12 choice and school readiness goals. The committee agreed to form an early childhood subcommittee and asked the Bureau of Legislative Research to help gather historical data and other information for future discussion. The committee then received a legal presentation from BLR attorney Taylor Lloyd on the constitutional and statutory framework for education adequacy in Arkansas. She reviewed the Dupree and Lake View cases, explaining that the state must maintain a general, suitable, and efficient system of free public schools, and that adequacy and equity are distinct but related concepts. She emphasized that the General Assembly is responsible for defining adequacy, studying whether the system meets that standard, and reacting to the evidence, while the courts ultimately decide constitutional compliance. Lloyd also explained the current adequacy definition, the role of the matrix as a funding tool rather than a spending mandate, and the distinction between unrestricted foundation funding and restricted categorical funding. BLR’s Elizabeth Bynum followed with a historical overview of how Arkansas responded to the court cases and developed the current adequacy process. She traced major legislative actions from the 1980s through the Lake View litigation, including the creation of funding formulas, categorical aid, isolated funding, declining enrollment funding, and the 2003-2004 adequacy study that led to the Continuing Adequacy Evaluation Act and the matrix used to set foundation funding. She also described later changes to the adequacy statute, the financial reporting requirements for districts, and the ongoing use of surveys, stakeholder testimony, and consultant studies in the biennial adequacy process. Members asked questions about whether private or homeschool programs could use public funds for expenses like utilities, whether stakeholders should include those groups, the difference between average daily membership and attendance, and whether school board members are surveyed; staff said those issues would need further research or were outside the scope of the presenters’ role.

Transcript Highlights:

• by the Department of Information Technology for IT rates, as well as longevity pay that was approved
• And also longevity pay that was approved by the legislature in this last session. So, Mr.
• That the governor approves? Mr.
• On page 2, you can see some of the major requests from state agencies and judicial entities broken up
• And so then, because we had to give them our drawings, and they had to approve them, right?

Transcript Highlights:

• Smitherman, commending Alicia Cannon on 50 years of service to the state of Alabama and the Alabama judicial
• ><00:14:27.279> Alabama state of Alabama and the Alabama state of Alabama and the Alabama judicial
• judicial system. judicial system.

Keywords: 1136, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Let's not approve this. And if you... Please, let's deny this. Let's not approve this.
• And if you do approve this, there could be serious problems down the road, considering his established
• and nonprofit boards and commissions, including as a current member of the Florida Supreme Court Judicial
• I worked at the State Attorney's Office in the Fourth Judicial Circuit here in Jacksonville, Florida.
• I look forward, if you so choose to approve my appointment, to continue advocating for Palm Beach State

Summary: The committee heard and voted on two higher education bills before moving to a long series of university and college board appointment confirmations. CS/SB 742 would let charter schools directly access the Workforce Development Capitalization Incentive Grant Program for career and technical education programs tied to industry certifications, and would expand the money-back guarantee requirement from three to six programs at career centers and Florida College System institutions. A question was raised about whether the charter school access could reduce district funding or grant availability; the sponsor said it could, depending on available funds. The bill was supported by one appearance form and was reported favorably. The committee also heard SB 892, which codifies the Florida State University Election Law Center so it can continue and receive recurring funding. The sponsor and FSU witnesses said the center is nonpartisan and focused on evidence-based research, especially on election administration issues related to natural disasters and public confidence in elections. After testimony and questions, including about the center’s scope and funding, the bill was reported favorably. The remainder of the meeting consisted of testimony from numerous appointees to boards of trustees for state colleges and universities, including Tallahassee State College, Valencia College, New College, Pensacola State College, Florida Gulf Coast University, University of North Florida, St. Johns River State College, Palm Beach State College, Santa Fe College, Daytona State College, and Florida Atlantic University. Most nominees emphasized their personal ties to the institutions, support for workforce education, student success, and local economic development. Several highlighted priorities such as keeping tuition affordable, expanding internships and career pathways, strengthening nursing and other workforce programs, and improving graduation and retention rates. Some appointees also described campus-specific goals, including research growth at FAU and Harbor Branch, community engagement at New College, and continued support for health care workforce partnerships at FGCU. The most notable exchange came during testimony from Dr. Joel Rudman for the Pensacola State College board, where Senator Leek questioned him extensively about prior public comments that appeared to reference threats and drug testing legislators. Rudman said his remarks were aimed at Florida House members and not the Senate, denied any knowledge of illicit drug use by current or former senators, and said he was speaking candidly as a private citizen. Public testimony on his nomination included both support and strong opposition, with one speaker praising his community service and another warning about his alleged disruptive behavior and social media posts. The committee also heard from several supporters and appointees who were not questioned further, and the meeting ended with plans to vote on the appointments after all testimony was completed.

Transcript Highlights:

• Speaker, this is to inform you that on April 16, 2026, I reviewed and approved the following measures
• Members, Senate Bill 13 is the appropriation for the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission.

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And then the Board would also, as part of that process, be approving the specific project that is to
• And then the Board would also, as part of that process, be approving the specific project that is to
• And then the Board would also, as part of that process, be approving the specific project that is to
• And then the Board would also, as part of that process, be approving the specific project that is to
• Thank you very much. also be approving the specific project also be approving the specific project that

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The committee first heard House Bill 707, which would create a state income tax deduction for contributions to Hawaii 529 college savings accounts and conform state law to federal changes allowing 529 funds to be used for K-12 expenses. The Department of Taxation said it could administer the bill as written. The Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities supported the measure but asked that ABLE accounts be included and that the program title be changed; the Department of Taxation indicated the title issue could be a problem because the bill’s expanded purpose may not fit the current program name. No vote was taken. The committee then heard House Bill 617, which would fund a Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at the University of Hawaiʻi Community Colleges. UH Community Colleges supported the bill, and Maui nursing staff testified that faculty recruitment is challenging but manageable, clinical placements are available, and the campus already has a statewide RN-to-BSN pathway; they said the new program would create two tracks, including a four-year BSN option. Members also heard support from several organizations, including the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, nursing groups, and health care associations. No action was taken. Next were several UH-related measures. HB 718 would fund faculty and staff positions at the John A. Burns School of Medicine; the dean and other supporters testified in favor. HB 1279 would create a medical education liaison position tied to Project ECHO; the Attorney General raised constitutional concerns about statewide concern and grant standards, while an individual witness supported the concept but suggested the bill should focus on liaison/support functions rather than program administration. HB 1169 would consolidate conference center revolving funds, and HB 1168 would authorize up to $800 million in UH revenue bonds; UH’s CFO said both were procedural/housekeeping measures and supported them. On HB 1168, members questioned debt service, possible uses, and whether deferred maintenance would be included; the CFO estimated annual debt service could be about $33 million to $41 million at current rates, said likely uses could include student housing and research facilities, and said deferred maintenance was not the current strategy. The CFO also explained that revenue bonds require both legislative authorization and a Board of Regents resolution approving the project and amount. Finally, the committee heard HB 548, which would authorize revenue bonds and appropriations to acquire the St. Francis School campus for UH Mānoa. UH supported the bill but noted the property is privately owned and not known to be for sale. A supporter described the site as a unique 11-acre parcel contiguous to the main campus and urged the committee to seize the opportunity for future generations. No vote or final action was taken on the bills in the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• Currently, nine judicial circuits across the state have co-located teams, demonstrating our shared commitment
• We are approved and funded by the Florida Network of Children's Advocacy Centers and are fully accredited
• deep-end services, it can move on to case management through dependency or through an in-home, non-judicial

Summary: The Senate Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs held a panel discussion on Florida’s child protection teams (CPTs), child advocacy centers (CACs), and the related roles of DCF, DOH, and law enforcement. Testimony from DCF, the Department of Health, a local CAC director, the Florida Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers, a Pinellas County CPT nurse practitioner, and a Jacksonville sheriff’s sergeant described how the system is intended to work: hotline reports are screened by DCF, mandatory referrals are sent to CPT, forensic interviews and medical exams are coordinated through CPT/CACs, and multidisciplinary teams share findings with law enforcement and prosecutors. Speakers emphasized the value of co-location, telemedicine, multidisciplinary staffings, and trauma-informed practices to reduce repeated interviews and improve child safety and case outcomes. Committee members focused heavily on communication breakdowns, staffing shortages, and delays in response times. Senators raised Jordan’s Law and asked what had been done to improve coordination among DCF, CPT, and law enforcement. Several members questioned whether the promised 24-hour response standard is being met in practice, citing reports of delayed referrals, delayed forensic interviews, and bottlenecks that can affect medical evaluations and criminal investigations. Law enforcement testimony from Jacksonville described cases where CPT interviews were scheduled one to two weeks out and reports were not received for weeks, while DCF acknowledged average CPI caseloads of about 12 investigations and turnover commonly occurring within 12 to 18 months. The panel also discussed access gaps and funding concerns. The Florida Network of CACs said Florida has 26 member centers, with some counties lacking CAC coverage and some centers having closed due to funding challenges. Speakers said CACs are voluntary but critical for integrated services, and that workforce shortages in medical and mental health providers limit expansion. DCF and DOH representatives said they would provide follow-up information on the number of CPT medical staff and other requested data. No bills were voted on; the meeting ended with committee members requesting additional information and recommendations for statutory and budgetary changes, and the committee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• what also supports our body-worn camera system is that we have comprehensive video that legislators approved
• I mean, because you're talking about essentially judicial discretion in these situations that allow the
• Grieving is one thing, but grieving and fighting this seemingly impossible, flawed judicial system is

Bills: HB1482, HB2017, HB2103, HB2341, HB2756

Keywords: community supervision, repeat offenders, intoxication, Texas Penal Code, criminal justice reform, intoxication manslaughter, criminal penalties, mandatory supervision, parole eligibility, Grayson's Law, mental health, trauma, jailers, law enforcement, occupational health, diligent participation, state jail felony, time credits, rehabilitation programs, de-escalation

Transcript Highlights:

• The committee confirms the amendment is approved, apparently 6 to 0.
• or approval of benefits." or approval of benefits."
• Now, the stated motivation of the House Judicial Committee's amendment was a concern for the families
• Now, the stated motivation of the House Judicial Committee's amendment was a concern for the families
• <00:38:50.800> Chair<00:38:51.200> Lynn Dai will meet with Judicial Chair Lynn Dai

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The bill codifies legal precedent in the agency relationship existing today by clarifying these judicial
• We'll show that all those confirmees are approved.
• Now we'll stand in an informal... ...be approved.

Summary: The Transportation Committee considered several bills and amendments. SB 1274, as amended, removed a number of unrelated transportation provisions and added items including local authority to lower residential speed limits, clarification that certain license plate frames do not obscure plates, FDOT funding for eligible rural airport projects, limits on yellow-light timing changes to intersections with red-light cameras, revisions to private use of license plate readers, and rules for direct payments to first-tier subcontractors. The amendment and the bill both passed favorably. SB 1310, as amended, would direct FDOT to study advanced detection and monitoring systems at public railroad crossings and report policy options to the governor and legislature; rail safety testimony supported the study while urging attention to interoperability and other safety concerns. The amendment and bill were adopted and reported favorably. The committee also heard SB 828 on extending sovereign immunity to private contractors providing public transit services. Supporters said it would reduce litigation costs, provide predictability, and help maintain affordable transit and paratransit service, especially in rural areas; opponents argued it was an overbroad expansion of sovereign immunity and could affect employee rights and accountability. After an amendment narrowing the language to contractors providing services rather than operating transit and removing subcontractor references, the bill passed favorably. SB 1378, which strengthens traffic enforcement by clarifying abandoned-vehicle removal, penalties for unlawful plates or stickers, and vehicle seizure authority for fleeing and eluding, also passed favorably with support from law enforcement-related testimony. The committee then confirmed a slate of appointees in tab 6 by one vote, with no objections. SB 1562, dealing with motor vehicle dealers and limiting concentration of a brand’s sales among a single dealer group once the brand has a meaningful Florida presence, was presented as a competition and dealer-diversity measure and passed favorably. Members later recorded additional affirmative votes on several tabs, and the chair noted this was likely the committee’s last meeting of the year before adjourning without objection.

Transcript Highlights:

• One was in relation to venue protection and judicial exclusivity.
• exclusivity. and judicial exclusivity.
• Of course, we're adding some language for FDA-approved AI technologies.
• <00:45:53.080> and they become developed and approved and they become developed and approved
• go through that rigorous FDA approval go through that rigorous FDA approval process,<00:45:55.280

Keywords: 981, all