Transcript Highlights:

• :18.360> trust These outdated processes destroy trust These outdated processes destroy trust in
• And just a process question to this.
• <00:51:22.960> Oh, process. Oh, we need some money. Oh, process. Oh, we need some money.
• health centers, centers, community health centers, hospitals,<01:37:44.920> and<01:37:45.080>
• ,<01:38:08.600> we and Community Mental Health Center, we and Community Mental Health Center

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We have prior authorization processes for pharmacy currently, so this would be adding an added layer
• <00:20:59.799> for Laura reikart Hawaii State Center for Laura reikart Hawaii State Center
• Hawaii Island Community Health Center, in support.
• <00:47:53.319> and with the application process and with the application process and wraparound
• Ian Ross, public affairs director with the West Coast Conference of Health Center.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on several health-related bills. HB 72 on pharmacy drew only support, with testimony from the University of Hawaiʻi system, the Board of Pharmacy, pharmacists, and others; no questions were raised. HB 237 on peer support programs also received broad support from the Department of Health, DHS, early learning officials, families, and advocates, with testimony emphasizing the value of peer-to-peer mentoring and support for parents, youth, and people with disabilities; no opposition or questions were noted. HB 250, the prior authorization bill, generated the most discussion. SHPDA supported a revised version focused on reporting prior authorization practices and creating a nonbinding working group to develop automation standards, while PCMA, HMSA, Kaiser Permanente, and others raised concerns about duplicative pharmacy requirements, unintended consequences, and alignment with federal timelines and reporting. Several medical groups and individual patients supported the measure, describing delays and burdens caused by prior authorization. A committee member asked whether the bill’s working group differed from a similar group in Senate Bill 1449, and the witness said it was intended to be the same. HB 303 on health care preceptors was supported by the Department of Health, University of Hawaiʻi, nursing and health care organizations, and the Hawaii Pharmacists Association, which asked that pharmacists’ residency programs be specifically tied to national accreditation standards. HB 341, relating to issuance of SPURS to assist the Hawaii Island Community Health Association, drew support from the health center and related groups. HB 692 on Preschool Open Doors received extensive support from early learning, education, family, labor, and community organizations; testimony stressed the shortage of child care and preschool slots, especially on Kauai, and the need to expand access for families. Committee members asked about adding family child care providers and about licensing/certification barriers, and DHS said the bill was focused on current licensed child care facilities and that certification issues were a separate, broader problem. HB 700 on cognitive assessments also drew strong support, with the Department of Health, the Executive Office on Aging, disability advocates, the Alzheimer’s Association, caregivers, and others urging use of a validated cognitive assessment tool during annual wellness visits and asking that the age 65 threshold be removed; some witnesses supported keeping the data-collection portion as a pilot and emphasized early detection and reporting.

Transcript Highlights:

• Let's enough process we go through here.
• Um, but there's a TRO civil process.
• First one, the center means<02:33:44.000> the<02:33:44.160> Hawaii<02:33:44.479> Center
• <02:34:16.240> for include section 139 Hawaii Center for include section 139 Hawaii Center
• <02:35:05.520> and C, the center may conduct and C, the center may conduct and disseminate

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on HB 1790 HD1, which would require law enforcement and oversight agencies to collect and report data on stops, use of force, and complaints to the Hawaii Crime Lab, which would publish incident-level information and annual reports. Supporters, including the Office of the Public Defender, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the ACLU of Hawaii, Hawaii Justice Rising, and the Policing Project, said the bill would improve transparency, help identify disparities, and support better policy and accountability. OHA requested amendments to ensure Hawaiians are identified as a distinct category in the data, and the University of Hawaii’s Ashley Rubin said the Crime Lab would work with agencies to make implementation as seamless as possible. The Department of Law Enforcement supported the bill’s intent but asked for a longer timeline and culturally appropriate methodology, while HPD opposed the bill as written, saying it would require too many new data points, create a significant administrative burden, and rely on subjective perceptions of race and ethnicity; HPD also noted it is piloting an e-citation system that could help with data collection. Committee members questioned HPD about current manual processes and technology options. The chair reported 18 testimonies total: 15 in support, one in opposition, and two with comments, and no vote was taken in the excerpt. The committee then heard HB 1611 HD1, which would phase down the general excise tax on groceries and nonprescription drugs until a full exemption takes effect in 2034. The Department of Taxation offered technical recommendations, including clearer definitions for groceries and nonprescription drugs and a technical change regarding the county surcharge exemption. Supporters, including the Hawaii Public Health Institute and the Hawaii Food Industry Association, argued the GET on groceries is regressive and worsens food insecurity, especially for low-income households, and said the bill would provide needed relief. The Tax Foundation of Hawaii offered technical concerns, including a possible wholesale-tax enforcement issue once the exemption is fully phased in. The excerpt ends during testimony on HB 1611, with no final committee action shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• So it's more of a fixing process, corrections.
• I realize that that's a very challenging process.
• attempting to navigate the process.
• And it sounds like he's in the process. Let's let the process work its way out.
• This bill is not that process.

Summary: The committee heard several bills, with most drawing support after amendments or ongoing stakeholder negotiations. SB 29, by Senator Laird, would extend a sunset on the law allowing pain-and-suffering claims to survive a plaintiff’s death; supporters, including a family member describing a medical negligence case, labor groups, consumer advocates, and disability and elder organizations, argued it prevents defendants from running out the clock, while hospitals, medical groups, and business organizations warned of higher costs and added liability. After extensive debate about data collection, settlement reporting, and the impact on health care access, the bill passed to Appropriations on a divided vote. SB 294, by Senator Reyes and presented by Senator Laird, would require employers to notify a worker’s emergency contact if the worker is arrested or detained and would create a template to inform employees of state and federal labor rights. Labor and worker advocates said the bill would help workers understand and enforce their rights amid weakened federal enforcement; there was no opposition on file, and the bill passed unanimously to Appropriations. SB 697 would modernize water-rights adjudication by allowing the State Water Board to use technology instead of requiring in-person field investigations; with no opposition, it also passed unanimously. The committee also advanced SB 37 on attorney advertising, SB 645 on peremptory challenges in civil cases, SB 303 on bias-mitigation trainings in public workplaces, and SB 464 on expanding pay-data reporting for specified state workers. SB 37 drew support from consumer and legal groups but concerns from Walker Advertising about joint advertising; members said negotiations were ongoing, and the bill passed. SB 645 would extend anti-bias jury-selection rules to certain civil rights cases; criminal-defense and defense groups said they were close to agreement, and the bill passed. SB 303 and SB 464 were both amended to narrow scope and moved forward after several opponents shifted to neutral or removed opposition. The committee also approved a consent calendar of additional bills, all sent to Appropriations.

Transcript Highlights:

• So the historical process is we took the total...
• So next, we have the presentation from the Minnesota Humanities Center.
• I serve as the CEO of the Minnesota Humanities Center.
• Many times we're asked about our review process at MHC.
• MHC has a very thorough three-step review process. I will talk through that process with you here.

Transcript Highlights:

• It runs through the very center of the city. It is our main street.
• part of the legislative process.
• And so... ...that the legislative process, that don't trust that part of the legislative process.
• And so we've made amendments throughout this entire legislative process, as we will continue to do.
• And so we've made amendments throughout this entire legislative process, as we will continue to do.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Will there be an evaluation process after the study, after the pilot?
• This is a team-based, patient-centered approach, which is care at its best.
• We have that evaluation process to say what's working and what's not working.
• SB 36 recognizes that reality while keeping patient protection front and center.
• SB 36 recognizes that reality while keeping patient protection front and center.

Bills: S0036, S0864, S0268, S0844, S0514, S1404, S0914, S1758

Keywords: nursing title, advanced practice registered nurse, advertising, professional standards, disciplinary action, uterine fibroids, public records, health privacy, epidemiology, medical information, emergency department, physicians, privacy, personal information, sickle cell disease, sickle cell anemia, pain management, controlled substances, prescribing education, continuing medical education

Summary: The committee first considered SB 268, a public records exemption for emergency physicians. Senator Rodriguez’s strike-all amendment narrowed and clarified the exemption, and testimony from an emergency physician described threats, harassment, and safety concerns tied to mandatory reporting and patient encounters. The committee adopted the amendment and reported the bill favorably as a committee substitute. Members then heard SB 514, creating the Dula Support for Healthy Births Pilot Program in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties for pregnant and postpartum women affected by substance use disorder. Senator Osgood explained the pilot would provide non-medical doula support and data collection, and an amendment changed the funding source to specific appropriations in the General Appropriations Act. Supporters said doula care can improve maternal and infant outcomes and complement medical providers. The committee adopted the amendment and reported the bill favorably as a committee substitute. The committee also approved SB 36 on use of professional nursing titles after extensive debate over whether nurses with doctoral degrees should be allowed to use “doctor” in clinical settings, with concerns raised about patient confusion and the need for clearer identification. The bill was amended to align with the House version and then reported favorably as a committee substitute. The committee next approved SB 864, a public records exemption for uterine fibroid research data, after a technical amendment setting a July 1, 2026 effective date; Senator Sharif said the exemption is needed so the Department of Health can collect sensitive data for the related research bill. SB 844, requiring continuing education on sickle cell disease care management for certain licensed physicians and nurses, was also reported favorably after emotional testimony from patients and advocates describing delayed care and bias. Later, the committee approved SB 1404 on memory care, after a strike-all amendment creating a new memory care specialty license for assisted living facilities that advertise or provide specialized memory care services, while allowing optional supportive services without the new license. Supporters from the senior living industry backed the clarification. The committee then passed SB 914, which clarifies that licensed occupational therapists may perform dry needling, after an amendment adjusting supervision and continuing education language. Finally, the committee took up SB 1758, a broad Medicaid and SNAP reform bill that would strengthen fraud enforcement, impose Medicaid work requirements for certain able-bodied adults, expand behavioral health services, modernize drug purchasing and prior authorization, and require SNAP fraud-reduction measures. Several amendments were adopted, and members questioned the work requirement, implementation costs, EBT card photo identification, and due process concerns; debate continued as the transcript ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• And they would go through the same permitting process, but part of the process is saying, we don't do
• The regulatory process is a little more fluid.
• So they'd be able to continue that process.
• To help in any way we can with the ongoing legislative process at this juncture.
• Noah Melroy, on behalf of the Climate Equity Policy Center, the Sisters of St.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Amy Lee, over to McCoy, the Director of UAMS Centers on Aging.
• They also, because the Schmitting Center and the Centers on Aging are so uniquely equipped, they do a
• Even our infusion centers, the cancer infusion centers, are swamped.
• We are going from one infusion center to another infusion center to another infusion center to another
• We are going from one infusion center to another infusion center because they have a lot of cancer patients

Summary: The Arkansas Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Advisory Council met with legislative members and agency, advocacy, and provider representatives present. The council adopted its rules and procedures, approved the prior meeting minutes, and authorized the co-chairs to approve special expenses. Members then heard an extensive update on the state Alzheimer’s plan and current developments in diagnosis, treatment, research, caregiving, and workforce issues. David Cook of the Alzheimer’s Association described major changes since the first state plan, including the growth of blood-based biomarkers, broader access to amyloid PET scans, and the availability of disease-slowing treatments such as Leqembi and Kisunla. He emphasized that Arkansas still faces major barriers in rural areas, including limited provider awareness, insurance coverage concerns, shortages of specialists, and long wait times for memory care and infusion services. He also highlighted caregiver burden, the need for better education and care navigation, and new efforts such as a dementia resource center pilot with UAMS, respite grants, and workforce training. Members discussed the importance of public education on brain health, diet, exercise, and risk reduction, as well as the need to collaborate with chronic disease partners and improve outreach to primary care providers. The council approved four proposed focus areas for the next state plan: advancing risk reduction, brain health, early detection and diagnosis; strengthening family caregiver support; improving access to diagnostics and treatment; and supporting access and quality of care, including workforce training and crisis response. Members also discussed possible legislative or statutory changes to keep the council active and engaged, and they agreed to pursue a future meeting in August, tentatively August 12 in Hot Springs, with additional meetings under consideration for later in the month. The meeting adjourned after no further business.

Transcript Highlights:

• Clarity and streamlined statute language is provided for court processes and case staffing processes
• HB 437 offers flexibility, protection, and compliance with the judicial process.
• This bill codifies the already established FSU Center for Election Law.
• The Legislature created the center in 2003 with non-recurring appropriations...
• Remember, we passed Marcy's Law through the constitutional amendment process.

Summary: The Senate convened with opening prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and several recognitions, including guests from Miami Northwestern Senior High School, Clay County, and others. Senators also observed a moment of silence for Pope Francis. After routine announcements, the chamber moved to the special order calendar and took up a long series of bills, often substituting House companions for Senate bills before final passage. Among the measures approved were bills creating an expedited DNA testing grant program for local law enforcement, adding aggravating factors in capital cases involving gatherings for religious, school, or government activities, requiring state health coverage for fertility preservation services for cancer patients, authorizing indemnification for commuter rail providers, prohibiting abandonment of migrant vessels in Florida waters, and creating new specialty license plates. The Senate also passed bills on Alzheimer’s awareness, relocating the Council on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys to Florida Memorial University, charter schools, sex offender registration, utility worker protections, juvenile justice, student mental health reporting, foster home licensure transfers, water access facilities, Florida Virtual School, school readiness, sexual images involving children, tampering with electronic monitoring devices, certified recovery residences, the FSU Election Law Center, the Office of Faith and Community, and bonuses for county property appraiser employees. Several other bills were temporarily postponed, including measures on social media use by minors, veterans’ nursing homes, Parkinson’s disease, mental health and substance use disorders, education, educator preparation, officers injured in the line of duty, school social workers, and Brownfields. Debate was especially extensive on the Office of Faith and Community bill, where an amendment to bar political activity by office staff was offered but failed 13-23 after arguments over election-related communications and the scope of existing law. The certified recovery residences bill also drew notable debate, with supporters emphasizing housing as essential to recovery and opponents raising concerns about implementation and local control. Most other bills passed with little or no opposition, though a few drew dissenting votes, including the capital aggravating factors bill, charter schools, and the Office of Faith and Community measure.

Transcript Highlights:

• Members, this is Representative Perez's bill that relates to the Financial Crimes Intelligence Center
• El Paso Hospital District owns the University Medical Center there.
• It's not as intensive a process to get the note.
• So our third point, transparency and accountability are inherent in this process.
• UMC El Paso is the only Level One trauma center at 280 mile radius.

Transcript Highlights:

• They do have a process. They do have a process. Not been auditing whether they actually do it.
• They do have a process that's like a couple years later.
• pay process, in order to make that a viable alternative to a protracted litigation process?
• Can you explain or clarify the audit process for us? Sure. Thank you.
• And in fact, survivor interests were very much centered.

Summary: The Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy held a hearing on the California Earthquake Authority’s SB 254 report and broader options for reforming California’s utility wildfire recovery system. The chair framed the discussion around the Palisades and Eaton fires, the scale of wildfire-related costs on utility bills, and the need to weigh trade-offs among survivors, ratepayers, utilities, insurers, and taxpayers. The first panel featured wildfire survivors William Abrams and Joy Chen, who described long delays in compensation, housing insecurity, and what they viewed as a system that protects utility shareholders more than victims. They urged greater transparency, clearer accountability for utility spending and safety performance, faster and fuller compensation for survivors, and reforms such as independent audits and better alignment of utility incentives with wildfire prevention and restitution. The second panel began with Tom Welsh of the California Earthquake Authority, who explained that the SB 254 report was intended as a broad inventory of policy pathways rather than recommendations. He described the report’s process, including stakeholder submissions, workstreams, and a convergence process, and outlined the current wildfire fund structure: utilities remain liable, the fund reimburses eligible claims after a covered wildfire, and the CPUC later determines prudency and possible reimbursement back to the fund. RAND’s Lloyd Dixon summarized compensation data, saying utilities paid about $38 billion between 2017 and 2024, with major shares going to injured parties, insurers, and public entities, while litigation costs and survivors’ own losses remain substantial. He noted that legal fees and delays reduce the amount survivors ultimately receive. Utility and public-interest witnesses offered differing views on the report’s pathways. PG&E’s Tyson Smith said the report shows inaction is the worst outcome and argued for community wildfire risk reduction, equitable allocation of catastrophe costs, and state-led resilience tools. LADWP’s Fernando Valero emphasized the vulnerability of municipal utilities and cities, and supported inverse condemnation reform, a state-sponsored liability insurance framework, damages and subrogation limits, and stronger insurance access. Consumer Attorneys of California’s John Fisk argued that IOU-caused fires are not natural disasters but the result of negligence and sometimes criminal conduct, and opposed reducing utility liability while supporting stronger oversight and audits. The Public Advocates Office’s Nathaniel Skinner focused on affordability, saying ratepayers already bear large and growing wildfire costs and warning against shifting more costs onto bills without measurable risk reduction and tighter accountability. Committee members then began questioning witnesses about what counts as measurable mitigation, how to define full and fair compensation, and how any fast-pay process should work.

Transcript Highlights:

• Ivy has her own center, it's called the Agrarian Policy Center, and is a former staff member... of the
• , and early daycare centers.
• They end up on a list where schools, senior centers, early care centers, and food banks can go to that
• Processing facilities, drivers on the highway, you know, moving product.
• It's a lot more complex than I think people realize the whole process is.

Transcript Highlights:

• We have two meatpacking plants, uh, where we process, uh, meat for the system as well for consumption
• We also have 7 residential reentry centers, some might call halfway houses.
• Another 2000 they're in the process, and there's roughly another 4000 on top of that, that they're in
• The page, next page, page 5, shows you the process of how they get in.
• We have no, uh, place in that process. Uh, the chair recognized Representative chat line.

Transcript Highlights:

• So that’s the macro thought process first.
• There's a market for process heat.
• Switzerland is in the licensing process.
• Our process is based on the process that was developed and is being used at Idaho National Lab.
• These warheads near population centers.

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They don't have a voice in this process. We are their voice, and I believe we have a...
• They don't have a voice in this process. We are their voice.
• Alfredo Medina here on behalf of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in support.
• The reality is that this bill does not create any duplicative processes.
• So the bill is not, the process is not duplicative because it's a completely different process, but the

Summary: The Assembly Business and Professions Committee heard a full agenda of bills focused on reproductive health, professional licensing and sunset reviews, consumer protection, and business regulation. Early testimony centered on AB 260, which would protect access to medication abortion, mifepristone, and telehealth reproductive care in California; supporters emphasized state protections against federal restrictions, while an opponent argued the bill removed safety safeguards. The committee also heard AB 714 on closing a loophole in regulation of low-cost commercial driving schools, AB 968 on allowing pharmacists to prescribe non-hormonal contraception, AB 671 on streamlining restaurant permitting, AB 1027 on strengthening cannabis product testing oversight, AB 1271 on broadband pricing and speed transparency, and AB 1332 on narrowly allowing medicinal cannabis shipments for seriously ill patients. Several sunset bills were also taken up, including AB 1482 on animal shelter and breeder transparency, AB 1501 on the Podiatric Medical Board and Physician Assistant Board, AB 1502 on the Veterinary Medical Board, AB 1503 on the Board of Pharmacy, and AB 1504 on the Massage Therapy Council. Testimony was largely in support of the measures, with many bills drawing co-sponsors or support from industry, consumer, or professional groups. AB 1503 generated the most sustained opposition, with nurses, physicians, and drug industry representatives objecting to expanded pharmacy technician ratios, standard-of-care language, and therapeutic interchange authority; supporters argued the bill would modernize pharmacy practice and expand access. AB 1504 also drew mixed testimony, with massage therapy groups supporting continuation of the council but raising concerns about proposed public records and governance provisions. AB 1271 drew a policy dispute over whether broadband reporting requirements duplicated federal FCC processes, while supporters argued California needed its own consumer-facing data and complaint system. After quorum was established later in the hearing, the committee began taking roll-call votes. AB 1271, AB 1332, AB 1482, AB 1501, and AB 1502 were all reported out on due-pass motions, with AB 1271 amended and the others generally amended or as introduced as noted. Earlier bills including AB 260, AB 671, AB 714, AB 968, and AB 1027 also received motions and were approved once the quorum was present. The chair repeatedly noted the lack of quorum during the hearing, but once one was secured, the committee completed votes on the agenda items and advanced the measures to Appropriations.

Transcript Highlights:

• So then you've got to go through the process to get reinstated.
• But I'm saying this not just for the process. I'm saying it for the constituents.
• But I've been through this process a long time.
• are a daycare center. automatically because they are a daycare center.
• During the appropriations process, a sunset date of July 1, 2028, was added.

Keywords: 964, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Waiau has been at capacity for a long time, but we are through this process, a new process that Anela
• Waiau has been at capacity for a long time, but we are through this process, a new process that Anela
• Waiau has been at capacity for a long time, but we are through this process, a new process that Anela
• in the center, always. in the center, always.
• We have process with the unions.

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on several education resolutions, beginning with HCR 11 and HR 14, which ask the Board of Education and the State Public Charter School Commission to report on improving access to stable, suitable, and affordable facilities for public charter schools. The Charter School Commission supported the measure, and OHA also supported it while noting long-standing facility challenges, the lack of a dedicated facilities appropriation, and the strain on charter schools that have had to use operating funds for buildings and temporary structures. Kealakehe Academy, Hawaii Technology Academy, and several individuals also testified in support. The committee then took up HCR 181 and HR 171, which seek a shared decision-making committee to develop an action plan for a K-12 Ka Waihona School in Kapolei. The Department of Education said it has already developed a strategic plan for Kaipuni education, has expanded immersion programs over the past decade, and is addressing growth through interim guidance and a new priority placement process. Community witnesses, including representatives of Ke Alo Ever, strongly supported the resolutions, emphasizing the need for a K-12 pathway, the importance of Hawaiian language and culture, and the role of community voice in planning. They argued that teacher shortages, especially for licensed Hawaiian immersion teachers, remain a major barrier and proposed a kumu recruitment and retention program tied to community, UH, and DOE partnerships. The committee also heard HCR 187 and HR 177, which urge the Department of Education to begin initiatives to address teacher retention statewide. DOE and the University of Hawaiʻi College of Education said teacher retention is already being addressed through the Teacher Education Coordinating Committee, a five-year plan focused on building capacity, improving satisfaction, and compensation, and a new DOE human resources plan. In response to questions, DOE said it is seeking better school-level data on why teachers leave, is preparing for contract negotiations, and is working with the standards board and DLIR on an apprenticeship-related grant. TECC representatives said the group has been working since the pandemic era, may narrow its focus to retention as the most actionable area, and expects to provide more concrete recommendations in its annual report. The transcript ends as the committee moves on to the next item, HCR 47 and HR 43, without showing any votes or final actions on the measures heard.

Transcript Highlights:

• And I am happy to report that through this process, we've increased that by 25 new providers.
• Escambia County, the community mental health center is working to stand up a 16-bed crisis residential
• Any questions about the grant process or the current allocations to departmental health? Dr.
• . the dedicated opioid treatment center.
• We flew out there, met with them, went through the process, and understood what it was all about.

Keywords: 924, joint, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It did make it through the legislative process, and in that process, there were some amendments that
• Still very concerned about the process we're going through right now.
• Explain to me what that process would look like. Thank you, Madam Chair.
• She's the founder of the Center for Safe and Stable Futures, a child welfare policy center working at
• If you would like to speak, please feel free to come to the center aisle.

Keywords: 996, all