Transcript Highlights:

• There are customer-caused errors and there are agency-caused errors, and much of that is related to what
• in their error rate at all?
• Those are not errors.
• There could be error rates in other ways. Those are errors. Selling your deal is not an error.
• We can track our error rate and fix our error rate, but the federal government has to say, here's the

Transcript Highlights:

• department to utilize a third-party department to utilize a third-party vendor<01:40:34.920>
• And once that gets in place, that third party gets in place, then we would go back to the checks and
• third party gets in gets in place, that third party gets in place,<01:47:46.280> then<01:47:46.600
• checks and balances with the third-party checks and balances with the third-party income<01:47:54.760
• It allows for transition from interim third-party manager to authority.

Keywords: MS Senate Floor - 11 March, 2026; 10:00 AM, 925, all

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum, opened with an invocation by Reverend Anthony Phillips, and dispensed with the reading of the journal and committee reports. The chamber also recognized several guests in the galleries, including family members of senators, medical professionals for Early Childhood Day, and advocates and local officials. After introductions, the Senate moved into the calendar and began considering bills and motions. Among the measures taken up, the Senate passed House Bill 1393 to create the Mississippi Energy Infrastructure Fund, with the sponsor explaining it would allow MDA to support energy projects and require compliance with state procurement laws. The Senate also passed House Bill 420, which provides a full homestead ad valorem tax exemption for honorably discharged veterans age 85 or older and allows an unremarried surviving spouse to keep the exemption; senators asked about eligibility, age limits, and safeguards against improper exemptions. Another bill passed was House Bill 1941 on the Mississippi Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund, which would allow funding through bonds or other means in addition to direct appropriation and raise the DFA processing cap from 2% to 3%; several senators raised concerns about state debt and the funding mechanism. The Senate concurred in Senate Bill 2906, which gives the Secretary of State additional time to establish minimum cybersecurity standards for county election systems. It also adopted motions to table reconsideration on several House bills, including House Bill 908 on absentee ballot receipt dates, House Bill 525 on mandatory minimum penalties for sexual battery, and House Bill 538 on sanctuary policies and immigration enforcement. The chamber voted to reconsider and then again pass House Bill 1613, described as a bill on aggravated trafficking weight and pill counts that also included a chemical abortion ban, after some senators who were absent earlier asked to go on record. For House Bill 2409, dealing with a comprehensive mitigation program for retrofitting insurable homes, the Senate voted not to concur and invited conference. The Senate also passed and retained numerous other items as it worked through the calendar.

Transcript Highlights:

• I introduced a bill, House Bill 1271, last year, dealing with third-party data security vendors at our
• No commercial airport in the United States allows private third-party vendors to operate dedicated TSA
• No commercial airport in the United States allows private third-party vendors to operate dedicated TSA
• Do you guys ever come to a position to sell that information to third parties? No, sir, we do not.
• Do you guys ever come to a position to sell that information to third parties? No, sir, we do not.

Summary: The committee held an interim study on airport security vendors, prompted by Representative Hayes’s earlier House Bill 1271, which would have restricted Oklahoma airports from contracting with third-party identity verification companies such as Clear. Hayes explained the bill stemmed from concerns raised after a December 2022 TSA letter and broader questions about whether these vendors create security risks or bypass TSA screening. The committee heard first from Clear, then Idemia, and then Tulsa International Airport, with members focusing on how identity verification works, whether it differs from TSA screening, and whether the state should regulate these services. Clear’s representative said the company provides an opt-in biometric identity verification service at airports, not physical screening, and that every passenger still goes through TSA screening. He said Clear operates in about 60 airports in roughly 40 states, has about 40,000 members in Oklahoma, and has paid more than $1.1 million to Oklahoma airports since launching in the state. Members questioned how Clear verifies IDs, whether Real ID is required, whether the company can manually override biometric checks, whether it shares data, and whether it has had security issues. Clear said it uses source corroboration with state DMV systems, does not sell data, has no manual override, and has worked with TSA on security upgrades after earlier concerns. Idemia’s representative described the company’s broader biometrics work for Oklahoma and the federal government, including fingerprint systems for the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation, civilian background-check enrollment, TSA checkpoint credential authentication technology, and TSA PreCheck enrollment. She said Idemia’s role stops at identity verification and that TSA retains responsibility for screening and for decisions about who enters trusted traveler programs. Tulsa International’s COO said Clear does not replace TSA, that TSA retains exclusive authority over screening, and that the airport leases space to Clear and receives revenue from the arrangement. No vote was taken, and the meeting ended after questions and testimony.

Transcript Highlights:

• So we have, we do second-party reviews just to talk about the things we do to help improve the error
• Just to talk about the things we do to help improve the error rate, we do second-party reviews, which
• Two-thirds of those are client-caused errors, information not reported.
• errors were 51.82%.
• It's a payment error rate, not case error rate. All right. Thank you. Thank you.

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• minor children, and both of the parties minor children, and both of the parties agree<00:18:05.600
• Both parties want to them. Uncontested. Both parties want to seal<00:24:22.000> it.
• So what is the error rate right now, and what are you proposing that the error rate is going to go if
• what are you proposing that the error what are you proposing that the error rate<01:08:00.640>
• >> Our error rate is currently at 7.57%. >> Our error rate is currently at 7.57%.

Keywords: 10:00am HB 1260 11:00am HB 1574 12:00pm HB 1816 2:30pm HB 1499 2:45pm HB 1709, 928, house, all

Summary: The conference committee first met on HB 1260, a bill requested by municipal clerks to allow certain divorce-related records to be kept confidential. House members argued the Senate amendment would reverse the presumption of openness established in the Keene Sentinel case and raise constitutional issues under the state constitution’s privacy and open-government provisions. Senate members responded that the 2018 privacy amendment, the limited scope of the proposal, and modern internet risks justified the change, but the House maintained the issue needed a full hearing in a separate bill. The committee ultimately voted unanimously for the Senate to recede and adopt the House version, preserving the underlying bill without the Senate amendment, and both sides said they would revisit the topic in a future session. The committee then took up HB 1574, which extends free and reduced-price breakfast and lunch programs and provides funding for SNAP administrative costs. The main dispute was the Senate’s addition of $4.4 million for SNAP administration, which DHHS said was needed because federal law would shift more administrative costs to the state and could increase the state’s SNAP error rate, potentially triggering much larger future penalties. DHHS officials reported the current error rate was 7.57% for federal fiscal year 2024, below the national average, and estimated that if the rate rose above 8%, the state could owe about 10% of SNAP benefits, or roughly $12 million for a partial year and nearly $16 million for a full year. Some House members supported the added funding as a preventive measure, while others objected that the underlying bill was modest and the amendment resembled a previously rejected proposal. The discussion ended with the committee moving toward the House position and the bill’s future depending on the chamber’s vote on the Senate amendment.

Transcript Highlights:

• Members, this bill deals with which offices are going to be under the closed party primary.
• It would have to be voted on by a two-thirds vote to initiate the suit.”
• It’s a whole lot easier to get to two-thirds over there. I don’t know.”
• And all you want is a two-thirds vote? Okay. With this bill, I don't really think we need it.
• Mike Moscow, Southern Party Lawson, Moscow, in opposition, now wishing to speak.

Bills: HR9, HB709, HB1011, HB1057, HB1186, HB1245, HB1247, SB49, SB425, SB479

Keywords: human rights, individual liberties, Magna Carta, constitutionalism, free speech, Uniform Construction Code, building code, construction code, inspector licensing, building inspectors, plans examiners, public inspector, private inspector, private inspector company, building official, code enforcement, Louisiana Uniform Construction Code Commission, state fire marshal, International Building Code, International Residential Code

Bills: HB85, HB94, HB276, HB323, HB374, HB586, HB656, HB998, HB1204, SB42, SB46, SB51, SB87, SB110, SB154

Keywords: animal abuse, registry, law enforcement, felony offenses, public notification, firearms, due process, confiscation, law-abiding citizen, government funding, self-defense, bail, contradictory bail hearing, Gwen's Law, pretrial detention, criminal procedure, child sexual abuse, child rape, sexual battery, oral sexual battery

Transcript Highlights:

• The party where there really wasn't a whole lot of party; it was a whole lot of fighting.
• What happened with your party? What happened with your party?'
• Pick up the bills on third reading.
• And whether it's errors because we have agencies that we know can't handle the work, or if it's errors
• Please read the bill a third time.

Summary: The Senate began with opening prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and recognitions, including the doctor of the day and a lighthearted “Cannoli Day” introduction. The chamber then held an extended farewell celebration for Senator Joe Gruters, with numerous senators, colleagues, and family members praising his loyalty, political skill, family focus, and service in the Legislature and Republican Party. Gruters was presented with a commemorative gift recognizing his work on a 2019 public-safety and immigration bill that prohibited sanctuary cities and required local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. The Senate adopted a motion to spread Gruters’s remarks upon the journal and then recessed briefly. After recess, the Senate returned to regular business and took up third-reading bills. Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 354, relating to blue ribbon projects, was temporarily postponed. The chamber then considered Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 1758, relating to public assistance, with Senator Gates explaining that it contained five reforms to the public assistance system discussed earlier in session. During debate on SB 1758, Senator Berman opposed the bill, saying he could not support it in its current form because he believed the Medicaid-related provisions would create a coverage cliff after the one-year transition period and could leave people without care while increasing costs to hospitals and taxpayers. He also said SNAP error reduction should be a priority, but argued the state should focus on fixing administrative errors and fraud rather than imposing a work requirement whose costs and effects were uncertain.

Transcript Highlights:

• New Mexico needs to improve our error rate.
• And so those may be some of the error rates.
• in errors.
• And so one party said, "We've got to fix this now."
• And both parties used this leverage, and one party said no, and so we do need to fix this.

Transcript Highlights:

• minor children, and both of the parties minor children, and both of the parties agree<00:18:05.600
• Both parties want to them. Uncontested. Both parties want to seal<00:24:22.000> it.
• Okay. >> So what is the error rate right now and what are you proposing that the error rate is going
• what are you proposing that the error what are you proposing that the error rate<01:08:00.640>
• >> Our error rate is currently at 7.57%. >> Our error rate is currently at 7.57%.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Summary: The meeting covered two committee of conference items. On HB 1260, the House and Senate debated a Senate amendment dealing with sealing certain divorce-related financial records. House members argued the amendment conflicted with the Keane Sentinel decision and would improperly flip the burden of proof on public access to court records, raising constitutional concerns under the state constitution’s open government and privacy provisions. Senate members responded that the privacy amendment and modern conditions support more protection for sensitive financial information, especially in limited uncontested divorces, but several members agreed the issue should be studied in a separate bill with a full hearing next year rather than resolved in conference. The committee ultimately voted unanimously to have the Senate recede and pass HB 1260 in the form originally passed by the House, preserving the underlying bill without the Senate amendment. The committee then took up HB 1574, which extends free and reduced-price breakfast and lunch programs and provides funding for SNAP administrative costs. The main dispute was the Senate’s addition of $4.4 million for SNAP administration. Senator Gray and DHHS officials said federal changes will shift more administrative costs to the state and that underfunding administration could raise the SNAP error rate, which could trigger future federal penalties and larger state costs; DHHS reported a current error rate of 7.57%, below the national average, and said a higher error rate could cost the state roughly $12 million in a partial fiscal year and nearly $16 million in a full year. Representative Papovich said he understood the department’s needs but was reluctant to support the bill as amended, noting the Senate language resembled a prior bill that had already failed in the House. The discussion ended with the committee still considering the Senate amendment, with members weighing the immediate appropriation against possible future costs.

Transcript Highlights:

• and will be tied to payment error rates. and will be tied to payment error rates.
• able to drive down the state's error able to drive down the state's error rate<00:04:14.320>
• > funds And third, this recommendation funds And third, this recommendation funds across<00:09
• not pass um along party lines. not pass um along party lines.
• help reduce those errors.

Bills: HF4525, HF3002, HF3665, HF4420

Keywords: human services, background studies, NETStudy 2.0, licensing, license suspension, license revocation, provider enrollment, program integrity, fraud, medical assistance fraud, Medicaid, payment withholding, credible allegation of fraud, background check, disqualification, variance, set-aside, foster care, family foster setting, adult foster care

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:29:31.480> Um error rate. Um error rate.
• <00:44:37.000> So, drivers of errors. So, drivers of errors.
• They'll be based on either your 2025 error rate or 2026 error rate.
• <00:53:16.200> So, 2025 error rate or 2026 error rate.
• So, 2025 error rate or 2026 error rate.

Keywords: 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Because the users, they can go and use the third-party administrator.
• What oversight mechanisms are in place for the third-party administrator choosing to run the program?
• What the third party would do in setting up the program is invite our in-service providers. right now
• Then the third-party administrator would...
• With the third-party administrator, there will be clear information for patients to know.

Bills: HCR141, SB438, SB1495, SB1964, HB 1225

Keywords: HCR 141, House Concurrent Resolution, NASA, Houston, Space City, Johnson Space Center, Mission Control, Apollo 11, moon landing, aerospace, commercial space, space exploration, Texas Space Commission, space policy, federal resolution, memorial resolution, Congress, Washington D.C., headquarters relocation, space industry

Transcript Highlights:

• OSPI staff said both they and their third-party vendors supporting the system struggled to address some
• Doing so helps ensure staff or third-party contractors perform tasks consistently, helps managers hold
• In the 2024 third-party review of the apportionment suite, they covered that OSPI relies entirely on
• And that isn't a rounding error to thousands of dollars, or is it?
• So yes, we identified these small rounding errors in some of the inputs.

Keywords: 904, all

Summary: The committee heard a State Auditor’s Office performance audit on OSPI’s school apportionment system, which distributes K-12 funding to districts. Auditors said the system and its underlying 2008-era infrastructure are outdated, unstable, inefficient, and at high risk of errors or failure. They also found weak controls over data input, documentation, oversight, and monitoring, with heavy reliance on a small number of staff and vendor knowledge. In limited testing of three districts, the system calculated 2023–24 funding correctly, but auditors identified small discrepancies between state budget inputs and underlying statutory language and said broader system risks remain unresolved. JLARC members asked about the scope of the district testing, whether smaller districts face greater risk, the meaning of the funding discrepancies, and whether the system could support a future change to a simpler per-student funding formula. Auditors said the discrepancies were small but could compound into millions statewide, and that the audit did not evaluate broader policy questions or alternative system owners. They recommended OSPI modernize or replace the system and address current control weaknesses while the new platform is developed. OSPI officials largely agreed that the current platform needs replacement and said a feasibility study completed in 2024 found the system at catastrophic risk of failure. They clarified that the Legislature had approved up to $16 million in the state IT pool for the project, but that funding is released through gated oversight and not all of it had yet been appropriated for the current biennium. OSPI disputed the auditor’s characterization of some rounding and budget-law issues, saying the calculations were consistent with agency rules and legislative inputs, and explained that some manual workarounds are used to handle newer statutory requirements. One member of the public testified in support of modernizing the system and strengthening controls. The committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Your third party, which is going to be if you have Aetna or somebody else, right?
• And this says either the amount received from the facility, the third party has to find the deductible
• They've been paid by a third-party payer, right?
• And then the third-party payer pays something different. It didn't start as a fraud.
• You're going to bring in the median charge from a third party vendor, so we're not going to go there.

Bills: HB4806

Keywords: civil action, damages, health care services, noneconomic damages, negligence, legal standards, 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So we have, we do second-party reviews just to talk about the things we do to help improve the error
• Just to talk about the things we do to help improve the error rate, we do second-party reviews, which
• We’re hoping to get to the third one to look at how they are working and how they are keeping their error
• Two-thirds of those are client-caused errors, information not reported.
• It’s a payment error rate, not a case error rate.” “All right, thank you.

Summary: The meeting focused on Arkansas’s workforce development reorganization and a set of federal waiver requests intended to consolidate and streamline the state’s WIOA system. Commerce officials said the department has already centralized shared services, split the old workforce agency into reemployment and Arkansas Workforce Connections, and submitted a combined WIOA/Perkins state plan. They described nine waiver requests, including replacing local workforce boards with a single statewide board, creating one planning and accountability structure, allowing more flexible movement of funds across regions, easing the “last-dollar” requirement for training and supportive services, reducing required youth program elements, and allowing affiliate sites instead of mandatory comprehensive centers. Officials said the goal is to reduce administrative costs and redirect more money to training, supportive services, and employer-driven programs. Legislators raised concerns about rural representation, local employer relationships, and whether local offices would close. Commerce officials said local offices would remain open, some current staff could be rehired, and regional business councils would preserve local employer input. They said the current system is fragmented and expensive, with roughly $14 million in federal workforce funds flowing through local boards but only about $1.9 million spent on training and supportive services last year; they argued the reorganization could raise training spending to about $6 million to $7 million annually. Questions also addressed board composition, performance accountability, and how funds could be shifted between regions when needs change. The State Board of Workforce Development had approved the waiver package 11-3 before it was submitted to the U.S. Department of Labor. Members also discussed workforce access for people with disabilities, child care and transportation supports, and the role of Arkansas Launch, apprenticeships, and career and technical education. Officials said vocational rehabilitation now has better access to the state job board and that referrals and data-sharing with DHS and other partners still need improvement. Several legislators emphasized the need for training to align more closely with employer demand, especially in manufacturing, technology, health care, and rural areas. The committee also heard a brief overview of Workforce Pell, with staff explaining that the new federal short-term Pell option has narrow eligibility rules and may not fit many existing programs, including some CDL and CNA programs.

Transcript Highlights:

• It allows a process for all parties to agree to correct an error, omission, or wrongful act without a
• a party process or involved in party a party process or involved in party activities<01:08:50.159
• a political party and meet the party affiliation or party balance requirement there.
• a political party and meet the party affiliation or party balance requirement there.
• Administration, and what this does is this requires how non-government third parties can distribute absentee

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So we have, we do second party reviews just to talk about the things we do to help improve the error
• same errors.
• error rate low.
• Two-thirds of those are client-caused errors, information not reported.
• It's a payment error rate, not a case error rate. All right, thank you.

Summary: The meeting focused on Arkansas’s proposed workforce system overhaul, including a combined WIOA/Perkins state plan and a package of federal waiver requests intended to consolidate workforce governance, reduce administrative costs, and redirect more funding to training and supportive services. Commerce officials said the plan would replace the current structure of 10 local workforce boards and more than 200 board members with a single statewide board and one administrative entity, while keeping local offices open and using regional business councils to preserve employer and local input. They said the state has already reduced Commerce headcount and operating costs, and that the changes would improve coordination with higher education, adult education, vocational rehabilitation, DHS, and Arkansas Industry Connect. Much of the discussion centered on the waiver package, especially the proposal to make the state board function as the local board, allow more flexible movement of funds across regions, eliminate the WIOA “last dollar” requirement for training and supportive services, create affiliate sites instead of requiring every area to maintain a comprehensive center, and relax the 14 youth program element requirement. Officials said the State Board of Workforce Development approved the waiver package 11-3 before it was submitted to the U.S. Department of Labor, and that implementation would begin only after federal approval and a closeout process, likely taking up to a year. They also described plans to streamline referrals and data sharing, expand mobile and virtual services, and use a more centralized model to improve customer service and employer engagement. Members raised repeated concerns about rural representation, local control, board composition, and whether jobs and relationships would be lost if local boards were eliminated. Commerce officials responded that local offices would remain open, some current staff could be rehired by the state, and regional business councils would help ensure local employer voice. Several members also questioned how the funding was being used, citing audit findings that only about $1.8 million to $1.9 million of roughly $14 million to $15 million in federal workforce funds had gone to training and supportive services. Officials said the reorganization could increase annual training spending to roughly $6 million to $7 million by reducing overhead, one-stop operator contracts, and board administration. The committee also discussed how the changes might support workforce training facilities, apprenticeships, child care and transportation assistance, and employer-driven training in fields such as manufacturing, health care, technology, and welding. The Division of Higher Education also briefed members on Workforce Pell. Officials explained that the new federal program would extend Pell eligibility to short-term programs, but only within narrow limits, such as 150 to 599 clock hours and 8 to 15 weeks of instruction, with additional completion and employment benchmarks. They said Arkansas is working with colleges and universities to identify programs that fit the criteria and that the governor has designated the Division of Higher Education to lead implementation. No votes were taken by the committee during this portion of the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• Third reading. amended by conference. Third reading.
• Third reading. Any further conference. Third reading. Any further discussion?
• We had a clip of $33.1 million this year because of a counting error.
• <00:07:55.520> and divided party and divided party and equal<00:07:57.520> that<00:
• So, everyone got a little cut, error.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, the error rates that we see on this has resulted in catastrophic results for innocent parties, including
• third parties that had nothing to do with the topic of the investigation.
• ,<00:08:50.360> including<00:08:50.840> third innocent parties, including third innocent
• parties, including third parties<00:08:51.400> that<00:08:51.520> had<00:08:51.640>
• <00:16:30.520> highest south, Kentucky is the third highest south, Kentucky is the third highest

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The House Judiciary Committee met with a quorum and took up three bills. First, it heard House Bill 264, which would add real estate scams to theft by deception law by covering fraudulent sale, lease, or rental of commercial or residential property. Representative Proctor said the measure responds to growing real estate fraud and was intended to help law enforcement address schemes where bad actors list property they do not own. The committee approved the bill 18-0 and reported it favorably. The committee then considered House Bill 58, as amended by a committee substitute, dealing with automated license plate readers. Representative Hodgson said the bill would limit retention of ALPR data to 90 days, with exceptions for active investigations, subpoenas, and certain insurance or financial contract uses, and would restrict sale or sharing of the data to protect privacy while preserving public safety uses. Members asked about differences in the substitute and whether the bill would affect work-zone safety cameras; Hodgson said it would not. The committee adopted the substitute and passed the bill 19-0, with favorable expression. Finally, the committee took up House Bill 529, also with a committee substitute, concerning the Parole Board. The bill would set four-year terms for board members, allow a limited gubernatorial extension when needed to avoid too many expirations in one year, and permit panels of two or more members to decide parole cases. The Parole Board chair testified that smaller panels are needed to handle the board’s heavy caseload more efficiently and avoid administrative delays. Members discussed a minor wording change in the substitute and the emergency status of the bill due to vacancies. The committee passed HB 529 20-0 with one pass vote, then adopted a title amendment and adjourned.