Transcript Highlights:

• set new standards for what is high-quality education.
• All 10 of our nursing programs submitted proposals.
• All 10 of our nursing programs submitted proposals.
• We've had over 1,900 new graduates from our nursing programs.
• nursing programs.

Summary: The committee heard a presentation on the State University System’s new strategic plan, SUS 30, from Emily Sykes and later the system’s legislative budget request from Sarah Denagie. The strategic plan centers on five priorities: One SUS collaboration, elevating student success, operational excellence, world-class talent, and innovative research and economic development. Testimony highlighted Florida’s continued status as the nation’s top higher education system, record rankings, improved four-year graduation rates, higher median graduate wages, strong licensure pass rates, and expanded focus on research commercialization and workforce alignment. Senators asked about programs of strategic emphasis, mental health and teacher workforce needs, use of the My Florida Future wage data tool, support for first-generation and Pell students, and the role of liberal arts degrees. The system said it would provide follow-up information, including the full strategic-emphasis list and a report on campus safety best practices after a recent summit following the FSU shooting. The committee also received an update on line funding for nursing and health care partnerships. Officials said the $6 million appropriation was fully subscribed through 24 proposals from all 10 nursing programs, supporting scholarships, faculty recruitment, internships, simulation, and expanded nursing capacity. They reported more than 1,900 new nursing graduates, over 200 new student slots, more than 300 scholarships, and a 92% NCLEX pass rate. Senators asked about expanding eligibility for the program, and staff indicated that would be examined this year. For the legislative budget request, the Board of Governors asked for $634.5 million total, including $295 million to maintain the institutional performance-based funding base, $400 million for the state investment portion of performance-based funding, $125 million for preeminence funding, $100 million for faculty recruitment and retention, $6.4 million for UF/IFAS extension workload, and $3.1 million for state fire marshal inspections. The chair noted that resources are limited and that difficult budget decisions will be required. No votes were taken, and the meeting adjourned after the presentations and questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> gain access to their education benefits. gain access to their education benefits.
• We would put it towards education.
• </c> of dollars cut from those educational of dollars cut from those educational programs<00:39:58.960
• </c> local public health to help them educate local public health to help them educate motans<00:46:50.880
• </c> we have the contrast of our nursing we have the contrast of our nursing homes,<01:31:37.840><c>

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Department of Education.
• The Board of Nursing started to actively work to lower its cash balance.
• , etc., that are licensed under the Board of Nursing apply for or get licensure in Idaho.
• the number of continuing education credits required for work experience substitution.
• It includes the folks that do continuing education, that look over nursing education, includes myself

Committee: Senate Health and Welfare

Keywords: 989, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Thank you, and up next we have Chris Rubit from the Minnesota Nurses Association.
• I'm the president of the Minnesota Nurses Association.
• Thank you, and up next we have Chris Rubit from the Minnesota Nurses Association.
• I'm the president of the Minnesota Nurses Association.
• I'm the president of the Minnesota Nurses Association.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• of Clinical Nurse Specialists.
• of Clinical Nurse Specialists.
• During Minnesota's transition-to-practice period, certified nurse specialists and nurse practitioners
• This limits where certified nurse specialists and nurse practitioners can work for the first 2,080 hours
• Advanced practice registered nurses complete a Bachelor's of Nursing, work in the field for at least

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• He is a passionate believer... ...and both lower and higher education.
• a statewide quality oversight initiative for nursing facilities.
• And it's not the patient, it's the hospital, not the nurses.
• Can charge tuition for distance education.
• Tomorrow, Education will meet upon adjournment in the Henkel room.

Keywords: 974, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We have another nurse who's going on 10 years, and we have a night nurse.
• Thank you. have a night nurse. Um, in addition to have a night nurse.
• </c> nursing on a daily basis to our clients. nursing on a daily basis to our clients.
• Nursing.
• of self-directing homeare nursing. of self-directing homeare nursing.

Committee: Senate Human Services

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Despite my experience and my education as a nurse and a leader, when I reached midlife, I was blindsided
• He educated the surgical team about the disease.
• My name is Samantha Carrier, and I'm a newly graduated nurse midwife, a registered nurse, and a contributor
• It was me and the doctor and a nurse.
• I'm a certified nurse midwife.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Public Health

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The committee opened by explaining hearing procedures and time limits, then heard testimony on House 2499, a bill to create a public awareness campaign on menopause and related midlife health issues. Supporters, including a nurse, the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women, and other advocates, said menopause is widely misunderstood by patients and providers, leading to delayed care, unnecessary suffering, workplace impacts, and inequities in women’s health. Several speakers shared personal experiences with symptoms being dismissed or misdiagnosed and urged the committee to advance the bill. The committee then took testimony on a package of endometriosis bills, including House 2527 and Senate 1564, calling for a task force and broader awareness efforts. Patients, a physician, and advocates described long diagnostic delays, severe pain, infertility, medical gaslighting, and limited access to specialists and effective treatment. They argued for more research, provider education, and a coordinated state strategy, and several asked for favorable reports. The chair also noted the hearing was running behind and extended time to allow more testimony. Later, the committee heard Senate 1579, which would eliminate parental consent and judicial bypass requirements for abortion access for minors under 16. Planned Parenthood representatives, physicians, legal advocates, and students argued the current law creates unnecessary delays and harms vulnerable youth, especially those in unsafe homes or foster care, while supporters said minors can already consent to other reproductive health care. A pro-life witness opposed the bill and emphasized parental involvement and support services. The committee also heard House 2403 and Senate 1560, which would create a Human Service Transportation Consumer Advisory Board; disability advocates and riders described past safety problems and current service gaps, and supported the board as a low-cost way to improve accountability, rider input, and reliability. No votes or final actions were taken in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• The data shows that this education works.
• As you know, universal education removes some of the stigma associated with naloxone education, and they
• We know that schools are voluntarily stocking naloxone and educating nurses to administer it, and potentially
• I have been a nurse for 49 years and a child and adolescent psychiatric clinical nurse specialist for
• I'm a mother, an educator of 30 years, and a special education advocate for the last 10 years.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery opened its first public hearing of the 2025–26 session with remarks from the Senate and House chairs outlining the committee’s priorities. They noted recent work on addiction and recovery legislation, the ongoing youth behavioral health crisis, and that members might need to leave periodically for floor votes. The chairs explained hearing procedures, including three-minute testimony limits, written testimony deadlines, and reporting deadlines for Senate and House bills. The hearing then focused on several bills related to youth mental health, overdose prevention, and psychedelic treatment research. A major portion of the hearing centered on bills to improve youth crisis response and overdose prevention. Testimony strongly supported bills to print the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline on student ID cards, with speakers from mental health organizations, crisis centers, and individuals sharing personal stories of depression, suicide attempts, and the importance of making 988 as familiar as 911. Another set of bills would require schools to stock naloxone and provide overdose prevention education. Physicians, harm reduction advocates, students, and grieving family members testified that school-based Narcan access and education could save lives, reduce stigma, and help students recognize overdoses and understand Good Samaritan protections. Senator O’Connor and Tamika Perry also testified for a bill to strengthen substance use prevention education and reduce overdose abandonment, emphasizing the need to teach students about overdose risks and the legal protections for calling 911. The committee also heard testimony on a bill to authorize a pilot program for psychedelic treatment in licensed facilities. Senator Friedman and several medical and behavioral health professionals argued the proposal was a narrow, research-based approach distinct from the broader ballot question rejected in 2024. They said the bill would allow only a small number of supervised clinics to use psychedelics for conditions such as depression, PTSD, anxiety, and substance use disorders, with data reporting and Department of Public Health oversight. Supporters described it as a cautious way to study promising treatments while avoiding unsupervised or commercialized use. Finally, the committee heard support for a bill to create a special commission and five-year strategic plan for children’s behavioral health services, with testimony that the current system is fragmented, difficult for families to navigate, and strained by workforce and funding challenges. No votes or final actions were taken during the hearing; the committee primarily received testimony and questions on the bills.

Transcript Highlights:

• nurses.
• nurses.
• I'm an education consultant in the Bureau of Special Education Support at the Department of Education
• I'm an education consultant in the Bureau of Special Education Support at the Department of Education
• Education surrogate.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee heard Senate Bill 254, which Senator David Roford described as a technical correction to controlled substance inventory law for pharmacies. He said the bill would remove outdated language requiring inventories to be done in an odd-numbered year, while keeping the existing requirement that pharmacies conduct a full controlled substance inventory every two years in line with federal law. Members asked several clarifying questions about whether the requirement is pharmacy-by-pharmacy, whether new pharmacies would be affected, and whether the change would alter scope or compliance; the sponsor and a representative of the New Hampshire Pharmacist Association said it would not, and that it mainly provides clarity for pharmacies and inspectors. The public hearing on SB 254 was then closed, and the committee also heard support from a representative of the pharmacist community, who said the association supports the bill. The committee then discussed a non-germane amendment to SB 254 dealing with FBI background checks for educational surrogate parents under the Department of Education. Representative Leyon explained that the amendment was requested by the Department of Education after the FBI rejected prior statutory language, and that the goal was to allow people serving as educational surrogate parents to complete FBI fingerprint-based background checks so they can perform their duties. Department of Education and Department of Safety staff testified that the amendment mirrors language that has worked in other education-related background check statutes, including provisions with specific disqualifying offenses tied to child safety, and that the FBI requires precise statutory language and direct transmission of records through the Department of Safety. Members questioned why the FBI’s approval was needed, whether individuals could simply provide their own records, and whether changing federal leadership could require future changes; witnesses said the state needs both state and national records, that records must come directly from the FBI through the Department of Safety, and that the language is intended to satisfy current federal requirements. During the discussion, some members expressed skepticism about the need for the amendment and about placing it on a bill about controlled substance inventories, but no vote was taken during the portion of the transcript provided. The committee also briefly discussed a separate bill on physician assistants/physician associates, with members noting that the proposed name change would not alter scope of practice and that some outside groups had raised concerns about transparency, but that discussion was interrupted and not concluded in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• Urban schools spent the most per student on special education teachers, instructional facilitators, nurses
• Urban schools spent the most per student on special education teachers, instructional facilitators, nurses
• student funding for gifted and talented education as well as career and technical education.
• That local education agency and our state education agency at the department...
• education agency.

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Bunch has a new nursing school where they're doing some workforce training.
• We may have her discuss some of what they're doing at their new nursing school.
• Bunch has a new nursing school where they're doing some workforce training.
• We may have her discuss some of what they're doing at their new nursing school.
• A new nursing school.

Committee: All ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND DEMENTIA ADVISORY COUNCIL

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• , to require nursing facilities to have fuel or an alternative power generation source to power nursing
• HB 1095 provides for alternative power sources at nursing homes.
• It's in the education section. It's not a matter of child welfare.
• You mentioned nurses.
• Those nurses have to take their data.

Committee: House Health and Welfare

Summary: The House Committee on Health and Welfare met on April 23 and first disposed of several items without hearing them, including HB 1093 and HB 1145, and voluntarily deferring HB 946. The committee then quickly reported HB 1095 favorably without objection. That bill would require nursing facilities to have fuel or another alternative power generation source to maintain power, and supporters said it preserves existing backup-power safety requirements while giving facilities more flexibility as technology changes. The committee then took up HB 926, which concerns vaccination status and admission to public buildings and seeks to prohibit medical mandates. After adopting an amendment set and additional changes clarifying exclusions for licensed health care providers and facilities, medical masks, and child welfare/school-related provisions, the committee heard testimony both for and against the bill. Supporters framed it as a civil-liberties measure limiting vaccine-card requirements for public buildings, while opponents warned it could interfere with public health measures, school immunization rules, and the ability of health care facilities to protect patients. The bill was reported favorably on an 8-4 vote. HB 1220, a cleanup bill for the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, was then reported favorably after a technical amendment set. HB 1227, which would require complaints involving medical judgment to be reviewed by a three-physician panel before formal disciplinary action, drew extensive testimony from a physician sponsor, a doctor describing his disciplinary experience, and the board’s executive director, who said the board already uses practicing physicians, nurses, and experts in its process and warned the proposed panel system could be impractical because physicians are difficult to recruit for such reviews. At the sponsor’s request, the committee voluntarily deferred HB 1227 for further work. Finally, the committee reported HB 1217 favorably with amendments to a pharmacy benefit manager transparency bill, after supporters said it would expose hidden pricing and rebate practices and opponents argued some provisions were duplicative or unnecessary. HB 1028, setting minimum Medicaid reimbursement rates for non-emergency medical transportation, was reported favorably and referred to Appropriations after supporters described the need for higher rates and members discussed funding. The committee also reported HB 1185 favorably, with amendments preserving the existing Rural Hospital Preservation Act while extending similar protections to additional rural-lookalike hospitals, and adopted HCR 76 to continue the Health Inequities and Disparities in Rural Areas Task Force for another year.

Transcript Highlights:

• Because I guess my question, maybe a nurse or a doctor...
• I'm the chief nursing officer of the only community-based sexual assault nursing program in the state
• And so nurse, social worker, there's an assessment process.
• So it would really, it would truly impact where us nurse, our nursing programs across the state would
• Kina, I'm in with Missouri Nurses Association. We're just here in support of these bills.

Committee: House Crime and Public Safety

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• There's been a lot of change in education, which is sort of the name of the game in education, but. the
• I think we need more education assistants, and we need to fund schools and districts so that an education
• We should be asking educators how to educate because they're the experts as someone who's been in the
• I think education now is just hard.
• Any more requirements for nurses.

Transcript Highlights:

• It would create a two-year residency program for nurse practitioners, and then it would require the nurse
• The Community Health Center nurse practitioner—did you say $2.5 million?
• And that covers only a certain number of nurse practitioners.
• In my role at Family Health, I oversee our nurse practitioner residency.
• And what does a residency program cost for a nurse practitioner?

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Health Care Financing

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Health Care Financing held a public hearing on a large docket focused on primary care, workforce development, and medical debt. Chairs Cindy Friedman and John Lawn outlined hearing procedures and noted that testimony would be taken on 17 matters. The committee first heard testimony on bills to establish a community health center nurse practitioner residency program and to strengthen mental health centers. Senator Keenan, Rep. Keefe, and health center leaders described the Worcester nurse practitioner residency as a successful pipeline and retention strategy, citing workforce shortages, training needs in community health centers, and the cost of the program. Rep. O’Day also supported the mental health centers bill, saying it would raise payment rates, improve reimbursement for behavioral health services, and help clinics retain staff and expand access. The committee then took testimony on bills to address medical debt through hospital financial assistance reform. The Attorney General’s Office, Health Care for All, Health Law Advocates, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and individual patients supported the measure, arguing that hospital financial assistance policies are inconsistent, hard to find, and difficult to navigate. Witnesses said the bill would standardize eligibility criteria, create a uniform application, improve notice requirements, and expand access to discounted care up to 400% of the federal poverty level. Several personal stories described medical bills being sent to collections, confusion over insurance billing, and the burden of debt on low-income and chronically ill patients. Committee members asked about hospital concerns, the role of the health safety net, and whether the bill addressed root causes of medical debt; testimony emphasized that the proposal was meant to improve transparency and access rather than replace broader insurance reforms. The hearing also focused heavily on “Primary Care for You” legislation, H. 1370 and S. 867, which would increase primary care investment and create a new payment model. Rep. Haggerty, physicians, a patient, community health center leaders, and the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers described a primary care crisis marked by low reimbursement, staffing shortages, long waits, burnout, and difficulty recruiting clinicians. Supporters said the bills would shift spending toward preventive, team-based care, improve access and equity, and reduce long-term costs. The Massachusetts Association of Health Plans said it was directionally supportive of increased primary care investment but warned that any new spending must stay within the cost growth benchmark and preserve existing contracting structures. The hearing ended with additional testimony on a community health center workforce and loan repayment grant bill from Rep. Stanley, and with further discussion from Dr. Alan Garo about the need for payment reform in primary care.

Transcript Highlights:

• >> Higher Education Budget Subcommittee will come to order.
• education programs.
• Department of Education.
• nursing.
• University level for the S and master's in nursing or doctor of nursing practice for your review.

Transcript Highlights:

• for Human Education and prevention referred the Committee on Higher Education, HB 1788 by Hernandez
• by the Texas Education Agency refer to the Subcommittee on Academic and Career oriented Education.
• HB 2110 by Vandiver relating to the public higher education for the Committee on Higher Education, HB
• Higher Education.
• Public Education.

Transcript Highlights:

• spanning public education, state government, behavioral health, and disability services.
• And a state-level program manager with the Oklahoma State Department of Education.
• Speaker, please recognize Representative May to introduce the nurse of the day.
• Representative May, you're recognized to introduce the nurse of the day.
• It's our nurse of the day.

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The Senate amended the bill to include additional requirements for investigated procedures for nursing
• Does that apply to nursing home institutions? Yes. Thank you.
• Does that apply to nursing home institutions? Yes. Yes, please.
• Does that apply to nursing home institutions? Yes. Thank you.
• Madam Witt, members, as passed the House, House Bill 2189 requires the nursing board to adopt rules to

Summary: The Republican caucus reviewed a long list of House bills with Senate amendments, mostly hearing brief staff summaries and sponsor comments on whether they concurred. Topics included tax filing penalties, water and court procedures, vaccination and mask rules, bullion investment, nursing care complaint timelines, privacy protections for property and voter records, medical-record access, professional licensing procedures, school and family law changes, public records access for legislators, AI procurement, fingerprint clearance for traffic survival school instructors, development fees, infrastructure districts, distracted driving penalties, health aide scope of practice, eviction record sealing, backyard structure rules in planned communities, inmate transition services, nuclear-ready community designation, DCS parent-rights notices, domestic-violence evidence standards, inmate mental health study committee, legislative subpoena enforcement, trade office oversight, public power reporting, Native American language proficiency, mental health judicial review timelines, mobile food vendor licensing, medical-intervention requirements in schools, and school board training and meeting transparency. In most cases, the sponsor or a representative indicated concurrence with the Senate amendments, and the caucus generally moved through the bills without extended debate. A few bills drew brief explanation from sponsors about the policy purpose, such as aligning nursing-facility oversight with federal requirements, improving access to medical records, clarifying rules for licensed health aides, and adjusting school-related provisions. Some bills were noted as being sent back to the Senate or otherwise set aside, including HB 2035 and HB 2249. No formal votes were taken in the transcript; the meeting functioned as a caucus review of Senate amendments and sponsor concurrence before floor action. The caucus concluded after HB 2380, with members thanked for attending.