Transcript Highlights:

• It's not as effective, but Doctor Dingus uses that all the time in his fever tick program.
• Um, we've also worked with USDA, FDA, and EPA to expand treatment options.
• This very program was used in 76 and 77 when we had a resurgence of the screw worm fly.
• Potential treatments out there.
• We have to have the products for prevention and treatment.

Transcript Highlights:

• I should mention at this point that the H.R. 1 program did create this program in H.R. 1, but it is trying
• We are in year one of that program, or really year half, since the program started in...
• some investments in their rural training program.
• There is a federally funded program, the Alien Emergency Medical Program, that individuals could qualify
• And some of that does include cancer treatment and dialysis treatment.

Summary: The Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee met on July 30, 2026, to hear two main briefings. The first, from the Health Care Authority, focused on implementation of federal H.R. 1 Medicaid changes and Washington’s rural health transformation funding. HCA said the state is preparing for major eligibility changes, including the October 1 loss of Medicaid coverage for about 14,000 lawfully present non-citizens and January 1, 2027 work requirements, six-month renewals, and reduced retroactive coverage for roughly 600,000 Medicaid expansion adults. Officials described outreach efforts, new automated verification systems, a verification hub, and plans to use available data sources to reduce manual paperwork, while noting that about one-third of the affected population may still need manual processing. They also said H.R. 1 will limit state-directed payments over time, with an estimated long-term impact of up to $1.5 billion in hospital reimbursements. On rural health transformation, HCA said it is moving quickly to obligate its $181 million federal award through contracts and competitive grants for rural hospitals, workforce, behavioral health, technology, and tribal and community partners. Committee members asked about the impact on rural providers, community service as a work-requirement pathway, emergency Medicaid, tribal and federal reimbursement issues, and whether the state would submit comments on the federal work-requirement rule. HCA said it would file comments, that emergency Medicaid coverage for certain services remains available, and that it is working with tribes and other agencies to avoid erroneous terminations and to move eligible people into other coverage where possible. Members also raised concerns about the administrative burden on families and providers and the need for congressional attention on issues such as TRICARE reimbursement. The second briefing addressed maternal health and the Department of Health’s Maternal Mortality Review Panel report. DOH said maternal mortality in Washington increased for the first time in the report series, but most pregnancy-related deaths remain preventable. Nearly half were linked to behavioral health conditions, especially overdose deaths, with suicide, cardiovascular disease, and COVID-19 also significant causes; most deaths occurred postpartum rather than during delivery. The report found higher mortality rates among American Indian and Alaska Native, Black, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, multiracial, rural, and Medicaid-covered populations, and identified lack of access to care, financial hardship, housing instability, discrimination, bias, and systemic inequities as major contributors. DOH highlighted existing state actions such as one-year postpartum coverage, doula reimbursement, inpatient substance use treatment coverage for birthing people, and vaccine coverage requirements, and offered 12 legislative recommendations focused on affordable and high-quality care, basic needs and community supports, and equitable, culturally responsive services. Presenters from the Suquamish Tribe and Kitsap OBGYN described how the tribe acquired and stabilized a threatened OB-GYN practice to preserve regional access amid provider shortages and hospital service losses. They said rural obstetric care is difficult to sustain because of thin margins, workforce shortages, long travel distances, and higher-risk patients, and emphasized that tribal health systems can offer stronger reimbursement and integrated family-centered care. The Foundation for Healthcare Quality and the Bree Collaborative then outlined statewide maternity-care quality efforts, including work on perinatal behavioral health, care coordination, postpartum screening, doula support, and better-aligned payment models. They said Washington has strengths in innovation but still needs more OB-GYN capacity, better transitions of care, and more culturally responsive, trauma-informed maternal and Native health services.

Transcript Highlights:

• Three, enhancing patient treatment and continuity of care.
• The bill requires an individualized treatment plan.
• The individualized treatment plan must be re-evaluated no less than every six months.
• programs.
• For prioritizing the licensure of short-term residential treatment programs.

Summary: The Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs met to consider several bills and the confirmation of Taylor Hatch as Secretary of the Department of Children and Families. SB 1310, relating to reporting of student mental health outcomes, was temporarily postponed. The committee then took up SB 1354 on behavioral health managing entities, adopted a delete-all amendment, and heard support for the bill’s focus on transparency, accountability, audits, referral patterns, and a DCF report due by December 1. Members discussed the capacity of the current reporting system and the need for coordination with school districts. The committee voted the bill favorably. The committee next considered SB 1620 on mental health and substance abuse disorders, which implements selected recommendations from the 2025 Commission on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders. The bill, as amended, includes reforms on dignity and patient-centered care, crisis response, individualized treatment plans, use of the DLA-20 assessment tool, data analysis by the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, and creation of a research center. Amendments removed a direct medication-provision requirement in favor of a review and report on discharge procedures, medication adherence, and long-acting injectables, and clarified licensure priorities for short-term residential treatment programs. Testimony and debate emphasized the need for action, better data, and efficient use of public funds. The committee reported the bill favorably. Finally, the committee heard from Taylor Hatch, the Governor’s appointee to lead DCF. Hatch described her background in state government and her priorities for DCF, including coordination, transparency, prevention, permanency, and responsiveness to vulnerable Floridians. Several members spoke in support, citing her experience at APD and familiarity with the agency’s work. The committee voted unanimously to recommend her confirmation, and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> psilocybin program here in Minnesota. psilocybin program here in Minnesota.
• </c> you don't even receive any treatment. you don't even receive any treatment.
• . treatment. treatment.
• </c> particular program. particular program. &gt;&gt; Representative<00:31:56.240><c> Scott.
• </c> care programs and other social programs care programs and other social programs to<01:05:09.039>

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• So, relatively flat on the program side.
• I would be interested to know also for some of the programs and sort of new program expansions if the
• residential treatment programs that can provide the kind of care that, for example, some of the kids
• To expand programming for adolescent substance use and to expand programming for infant mental health
• , school life skills treatment.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Policies that create legal risk for hospitals, clinics, and training programs may further discourage
• Policies that create legal risk for hospitals, clinics, and training programs may further discourage
• "Treatment plan for that.
• Decades of research, From receiving care or following treatment plans.
• programs we have in Idaho.

Keywords: 989, all

Summary: The Senate Health and Welfare Committee approved the minutes from February 25 and February 26, 2026, then took up House Bill 928, the Merit-Based Health Care Act. The bill’s sponsors said it would prohibit DEI-related considerations in Medicaid-funded hiring, contracting, and training decisions while preserving compliance with federal law and allowing certain clinical data collection and patient-specific discussions. Committee members questioned how the bill would affect hiring, patient preferences, and medical training, and the sponsors emphasized that it was intended to ensure decisions are based on merit and to add a warning period before penalties are imposed. The committee heard extensive testimony on HB 928. Physicians and physician organizations largely opposed the bill, arguing it would chill evidence-based training, impair use of social determinants of health and implicit bias education, create legal uncertainty, worsen rural workforce shortages, and reduce patient care quality. Supporters argued DEI initiatives undermine merit and that the bill would prevent taxpayer dollars from funding discriminatory practices. After debate, the committee voted to send HB 928 to the 14th order for possible amendment, with Senators Harris and Wintrow recorded as opposed. The committee then heard House Bill 916, which would create a legislative rural transformation oversight committee for federal rural health transformation funds. The sponsor said the committee would provide legislative oversight and stewardship of the funds without appropriating money. Testimony supported the bill as a way to oversee federal dollars, while some senators raised concerns that the committee should require rural representation. A motion to hold HB 916 in committee passed, and the meeting was adjourned with notice of a two-hour meeting scheduled for the next day.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:26:31.160><c> prevent</c><00:26:31.600><c> program</c> treatment prevent program treatment prevent
• </c> Housing Program. Housing Program.
• Once the venue is established, then they begin to fit up their programs, which include clinical and treatment
• </c> card program. card program.
• </c> word program. word program.

Keywords: 927, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• drive our programming.
• but not treatment.
• but not treatment.
• But we also have a continuum of clinical treatment programs here.
• But we also have a continuum of clinical treatment programs here in San Diego at RY.

Summary: The hearing focused on youth mental health and treatment access in California, with opening remarks emphasizing that youth distress, self-harm-related emergency visits, and difficulty obtaining care remain elevated, while workforce shortages and reliance on one-time funding continue to limit access. Assemblymember Lori Davies echoed concerns about unstable funding and said lawmakers need to hear directly from providers and families as they prepare for the budget and legislation. The chair framed the hearing as a chance to hear from county, school, provider, and student perspectives, especially in San Diego County, where needs are high and investments have not always matched demand. County and school officials described the current system and recent state initiatives, including the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative, school-linked fee schedules, payment reform, and the Behavioral Health Services Act transition. San Diego County Behavioral Health said it serves Medi-Cal youth with specialty mental health needs through a broad continuum of care, including outpatient clinics, school-based services, crisis response, residential treatment, and new crisis and residential facilities. San Diego County Office of Education and San Marcos Unified School District described efforts to expand school-based services and reimbursement through CYBHI, but said implementation is slowed by complex billing rules, insurance-data collection concerns from families, administrative burden, and uncertainty about sustaining staff positions funded by grants or soft money. School counselor testimony highlighted reduced stigma through campus outreach and clubs, but also noted that counselor-to-student ratios remain well above national standards and that budget cuts threaten supports. Provider testimony stressed that the system remains fragmented and that youth often move between emergency rooms, inpatient care, outpatient therapy, schools, and county programs without smooth handoffs. A child psychiatrist described crisis cases in which the main choices are brief hospitalization or discharge with limited follow-up, and argued for stronger warm handoffs, more outpatient and intensive outpatient options, better school-clinic coordination, and broader use of mobile crisis and 988. Rady Children’s Hospital and Aurora Behavioral Health described large increases in behavioral health demand, expansion of integrated care, and major barriers tied to low reimbursement rates, delayed payments, and administrative complexity. Across the panel, witnesses called for more stable funding, clearer reimbursement rules, better parent education on warning signs, and stronger collaboration among schools, counties, hospitals, and community providers to reduce stigma and improve timely care for youth.

Transcript Highlights:

• learned from other state programs at HCD.
• The DBE program kicks in only on federally funded projects.
• The DBE program kicks in only on federally funded projects.
• So it's providing preferential treatment.
• No human beings should be subjected to inhumane treatment.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> bill relates to a new water treatment bill relates to a new water treatment facility<00:01:37.960
• </c><00:01:58.759><c> facility</c> our Woodburry water treatment facility our Woodburry water treatment
• </c> several temporary water treatment several temporary water treatment facilities<00:04:06.799><c>
• </c><00:04:19.919><c> plant</c> of a permanent water treatment plant of a permanent water treatment plant
• The city's wastewater treatment facility includes biosolid treatments and UV disinfection, and a new

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• , substance use disorder treatment,...
• Proposition 36 implementation, including mental health treatment, substance use disorder treatment, diversion
• I'll skip the overview of the grant program itself.
• felony programs.
• 36 programs.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> advocates to defend their treatments. advocates to defend their treatments.
• This bill fight for their treatments.
• ,</c><00:39:27.800><c> and</c> for these families to treatments, and for these families to treatments
• I urge your support of this treatments.
• </c> health care uh programs." health care uh programs."

Keywords: 981, all

Summary: The Senate met with a quorum, approved the journal, and then proceeded out of order to consider Senate Joint Resolution 20, recognizing April 9, 2026, as Home Education Day in Colorado. Senator Pelton spoke in strong support of home education, describing it as a parent-led choice that benefits students and families. The resolution was adopted on a 30-0 vote, and the current roll was added as co-sponsors. The chamber then took up the consent calendar and passed House Bill 1229, House Bill 1244, and Senate Bill 153. HB 1229, which concerns the human-animal bond as a social determinant of health, drew three no votes from Senators Pelton, Zamora Wilson, and Baeza; the other two measures passed unanimously. The Senate also laid over third reading of bills until Friday, April 10. In Committee of the Whole, senators considered Senate Bill 72, which increases criminal penalties for assaultive conduct involving a motor vehicle and adds causing death with a motor vehicle to criminally negligent homicide. The committee adopted the report and advanced the bill on second reading. Later, the chamber laid over Senate Bill 134 and House Bill 1084 until April 10, and then took up Senate Bill 140, which would exempt certain rare disease and plasma therapies from review by the Prescription Drug Affordability Review Board. Sponsors and supporters argued the bill protects access for patients with rare diseases and prevents harm to treatment development, while opponents said it would weaken the PDAB’s affordability work and was too broad. Senators Weisman and Gonzales spoke against the bill, with Weisman citing concerns about the federal definition used and Gonzales defending the PDAB’s role in lowering drug costs; the debate continued in the transcript without a final vote shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• Typically, the treatment team creates a service plan for the individual based on their specific needs
• Members, Senate Bill 933 is the Right to Try for Individualized Treatment Act.
• It focuses on treatments that utilize genetic, chromosomal DNA, genetic products, and metabolites for
• a more targeted treatment approach.
• treatment outcomes.

Bills: SB1328, SB1380, SB1436, SB1558, SB1572, SB1651, SB1805, SB1831, SB1836, SB2014, SB2023, SB2044, SB2179, SB933

Keywords: parents' rights, healthcare consent, minors, medical records, protection, legal guardianship, Medicaid, Oklahoma Health Care Authority, eligibility verification, death records, Death Master File, vital statistics, disenrollment, recoupment, improper payments, benefits integrity, public assistance, income verification, residency verification, incarceration status

Summary: The Health and Human Services Committee met to consider a series of Senate bills, beginning with SB 2014, which would allow ivermectin to be sold over the counter with FDA approval. After questions about whether a prescription would still be required and how FDA guidance would affect the law, the bill passed 9-3. SB 1805, as amended, barred detention and youth facilities from using temporary agencies or contracting organizations for staffing; the author said the change was intended to address transparency and records issues in a related lawsuit. That bill passed 12-0. SB 2044, also amended, clarified chiropractic-related language regarding serum and multiple vitamins; members discussed whether the bill changed scope of practice, and it passed 10-2. The committee then approved SB 1836, which requires a board-approved mental health screener during routine annual primary care visits. The author said it was meant to normalize mental health screening and noted an updated fiscal impact estimate of $284,000 to $560,000; some members raised concerns about mandates and cost, but the bill passed 8-4. SB 1380 would require the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to verify Medicaid eligibility against death records and conduct monthly death-record checks for enrollees; after questions about current practice, costs, and recoupment from deceased enrollees, the author requested title be stricken, and the bill passed 10-2. SB 2179, dealing with not-guilty-by-reason-of-mental-illness cases, adds staff accompaniment for therapeutic visits, requires structured violence-risk assessments before discharge or conditional release, and adds drug screening when substance-use monitoring is ordered; Department of Mental Health staff testified about treatment planning and monitoring, and the bill passed 11-1. Later, the committee passed SB 1436, which requires families to be informed of their right to certification after fetal death or miscarriage, and SB 1558, which clarifies that older youth in OJA custody may be placed in Level E group homes. SB 933, the “Right to Try for Individualized Treatment Act,” passed 11-0 and would allow certain terminally ill patients to seek individualized investigational treatments after informed consent. SB 1651, an Oklahoma Medical Board cleanup bill covering several licensed professions, also passed 11-0. Finally, SB 1328 modernizes parental access to minor medical records with safeguards for abuse situations, and SB 1572 removes the DHS and OJA directors from the OCCY board; both passed 11-0. The committee adjourned after noting a possible interim meeting for a Tier 1 nomination.

Transcript Highlights:

• We already cover medication-assisted treatment, or MAT therapy, for Medicaid patients, which is a treatment
• We already cover medication-assisted treatment, or MAT therapy, for Medicaid patients, which is a treatment
• While I'm not over that program, I ran that program for a number of years.
• We changed it to match with our electrical program. Elevator program and other programs have that.
• And some programs I'll be presenting here, we reduce— In general, I've got three more programs to present

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This bill will help ensure people receive the medical treatment they desire at the end of their lives
• It does not expand involuntary treatment. Thank you.
• It does not expand involuntary treatment or weaken due process protections.
• However, these are not individuals who are eligible for involuntary treatment.
• , but they're not quite symptomatic enough for involuntary treatment.

Summary: The Senate Judiciary Committee heard several bills focused on health care planning, mental health, housing, homeowners associations, groundwater enforcement, pet-friendly rental disclosures, and post-disaster property protections. SB 1088 would modernize POLST and DNR forms by renaming POLST to “portable orders for life-sustaining treatment,” allowing nurse practitioners and physician assistants to sign, clarifying that the forms are voluntary, recognizing out-of-state forms, and permitting electronic signatures. It drew support from the Coalition for Compassionate Care and related groups and no opposition was presented. SB 1242 would allow family members who originally petitioned in CARE Court to continue participating for care coordination and information-sharing, subject to judicial discretion; supporters said it would improve treatment coordination, while Disability Rights California opposed it as coercive and a threat to confidentiality. The committee voted 7-0 to pass SB 1242, and it was placed on call. The committee also considered SB 1007, which would require more HOA transparency, including clearer budget comparisons and disclosure of evidence for violations, and would lower the threshold for regular assessment increases without a homeowner vote. Supporters argued it would curb steep fee hikes and improve accountability, while HOA industry groups warned it could undermine funding for insurance, maintenance, and other operating costs. Members raised concerns about the cap on assessments, but the bill advanced on a 6-1 vote and was placed on call. SB 1364, as amended, would bar custody or visitation rights for a person who impregnated a survivor through sexual assault, using a clear-and-convincing evidence standard rather than requiring a criminal conviction; supporters said it protects survivors and may increase federal funding, while opponents argued it could deny children a relationship with a parent. The bill passed 8-0 and was placed on call. Additional measures included SB 997, which would give the North Fork Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency lien authority to enforce fees and sustainability rules; it had support from local water, farm, and county representatives and passed 9-0. SB 1296 would require landlords to disclose pet policies up front in applications, ads, and websites and allow application-fee refunds if disclosure was not made before payment; supporters said it would reduce wasted fees and pet relinquishment, while rental housing groups raised concerns about signage, ADA language, and vaccination disclosures. The bill passed 8-0 and was placed on call. Finally, SB 1090 would prohibit large property owners from making unsolicited purchase offers for five years in wildfire disaster areas, aiming to curb post-disaster speculation; supporters described aggressive investor pressure after the Eaton and Palisades fires, while real estate and title groups raised implementation and enforcement concerns. The committee was still discussing the bill when the transcript ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• That dentists can provide the full range of treatment our patients seek.
• the two programs.
• Um, they can already do that for treatment.
• part of the treatment plan that we're creating.
• No, that is completely, that is a different type of treatment.

Transcript Highlights:

• The treatment plans, but you're saying that verifying they're using local match...
• The treatment of plans, but you're saying that verifying they're using local match.
• And so we've tried to be a little bit flexible, but primarily this, the water sector program is a program
• ...the treatment plant at right at $5 million.
• ...substantial request for an increase of funds out of the Water Sector Program.

Keywords: 965, house, all

Summary: The Water Sector Commission met with a quorum and opened with a reminder that no funding had yet been appropriated for future project awards, so any discussion of upcoming grants was speculative until the legislature acts. The committee then approved the December 10 minutes and moved through a series of deadline extensions for Phase Two state-funded projects, including Delcambre, Faraday, Meyer Branch, and Waterworks District No. 1 of Pointe Coupee Parish. Members also approved a scope change for St. Tammany Parish Project 845 to relocate an unmarked fiber optic line discovered during construction. The committee spent substantial time on Tallulah’s water rehabilitation project, where Mayor Yubon Lewis explained that the city is trying to isolate and fund the purchase of four permanent media filters, plus related electrical work, from the original approved project scope. Members questioned whether the request was a true scope change or a way to use existing funds while the city continues to rely on temporary filtration and state-led triage. After discussion, the committee approved the request and asked to be kept informed as the state continues seeking additional support for the system. The committee also approved additional funding requests for Kaplan, Ponchatoula, St. Martin Parish, and West Allen Water Works. Ponchatoula’s request included multiple change orders tied to sewer and force main work, including emergency levee repair, equipment changes, and rerouting around unmarked fiber. St. Martin Parish’s increase was tied to land acquisition and added costs for a new well site in a multi-phase consolidation project. West Allen’s increase stemmed from a failed well drilling effort and was supported by cost reductions from the contractor and engineers, which members treated as in-kind match. In contrast, Tensaw Water Association’s very large request to consolidate Newellton drew significant concern over cost growth, scope, and timing; after extensive questioning, the committee deferred that item to the next meeting for further review. The meeting ended with an update that about 42.11% of ARPA funds remain, 16 projects are now considered high risk, and staff will continue ground-truthing project status and pushing ARPA dollars out first before adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• They followed the treatment and monitored symptoms, and they advocated.
• Barcode 540832 creates the Neurofibromatosis Disease Grant Program within the Department of Health.
• Barcode 540832 creates the Nero-Fibromatosis Disease Grant Program within the Department of Health.
• So treatment is prevention.
• However, half of the 32,000 clients in this program are in panic for their lives right now.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We have clinical and treatment staff that educational program within the Department of Juvenile Corrections
• We have clinical and treatment staff that work with them on mental health needs and substance abuse treatment
• The staff who would primarily be involved in this program would primarily be a policy analyst, program
• The staff who would primarily be involved in this program would primarily be a policy analyst, program
• doubt about the program moving forward, and this program was not recommended by the governor.

Keywords: 989, all

Summary: The committee first reviewed the Department of Juvenile Corrections budget. Legislative Services analyst Noah Peterson outlined the agency’s funding sources, staffing, recent expenditure patterns, and several FY 2026 and FY 2027 budget requests, including substance use disorder treatment, youth assessment center funding, replacement items, IT upgrades, and a clinician services transfer from the Department of Health and Welfare. Members asked about the governor’s holdback, public works projects, vehicle replacements, and staffing. Director Ashley Dowell said the department’s census has declined due to strong county partnerships, prevention and diversion efforts, and youth assessment centers, and she explained that a staffing analysis found the agency understaffed by 12 positions, with six vacancies converted to direct care roles. She also described the holdback impacts as coming from contract reductions, internal efficiencies, travel and training cuts, and substance use disorder funding adjustments. The committee adjourned after the department discussion. The committee then reviewed the Office of Energy and Mineral Resources budget. Peterson described the office’s mostly federal funding, small staff, dedicated funds, prior energy resilience appropriations, and FY 2027 requests for personnel realignment, Idaho Orchestrating Nuclear (ION) support, and home energy rebates. Administrator Callie Younger said the office is focused on energy resilience, permitting coordination, hydropower relicensing, geothermal and mining projects, and a growing nuclear policy portfolio. She highlighted the new nuclear task force, the office’s request for information to industry, and work on a federal request related to a nuclear lifecycle campus. Members asked about nuclear development, spent fuel, modular reactors, permitting efficiency, and whether the office might merge with the Office of Species Conservation. Younger said the office is exploring a merger because of overlapping permitting functions and could reduce positions and save some general funds, while also improving its ability to handle nuclear and mining work. The chair closed by noting the committee’s alignment with several governor’s office recommendations and adjourned the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:28:52.159><c> are</c> women's court today those programs are women's court today those programs
• </c><00:30:24.519><c> for</c> implemented a pilot program for implemented a pilot program for mediating
• court</c> treatment a veterans treatment court treatment a veterans treatment court that<00:39:41.200
• </c><00:45:13.480><c> the</c> courts in the community program the courts in the community program the
• </c> environmental Court veterans treatment environmental Court veterans treatment Court<00:59:05.039

Keywords: State of the Judiciary Address by Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald, 912, senate, all