Transcript Highlights:

• It aligns due process provisions.
• For the accused, the changes in the bill expand this process to any other agency investigations of individuals
• I will check and be able to confirm, because I think there are some similar components to another bill

Bills: SB226, SB413, SB571, SB1049, SB2398, SB2920

Keywords: residency, public schools, child safety placement, enrollment, education code, school boards, transparency, public meetings, attendance, recording, misconduct, child abuse, educators, investigation, criminal offense, education law, suspension, reporting requirements, released time, religious instruction

Transcript Highlights:

• in another day, not that long ago, and members, it is, as I've said, the electronic verification process
• The little baby has developed too much, is too big for this process to work.
• Now these are numbers reported, confirmed, this is real. This is what these pills do.

Transcript Highlights:

• It's an eight-month process in total, and it's a very full eight months.
• And can you describe or can you confirm that when you have a settlement-type situation?
• It's probably part of the most effective part of the process is when the service hearing customers come

Summary: The joint committee met with a quorum present and first received an overview of its jurisdiction and duties related to appointing the Florida Public Counsel. Staff explained the committee’s authority under joint rules and state law, noted that the current Public Counsel’s term expires February 28, 2025, and that applications for the next four-year term were open with a February 6, 2025 deadline. The committee then heard an extensive update from Public Counsel Walt Truerweiler on the Office of Public Counsel’s work representing utility ratepayers before the Public Service Commission and in appeals. Truerweiler described the office’s caseload and priorities, including electric, gas, water, and wastewater rate cases; storm recovery dockets; cost-recovery clauses; rulemakings; and customer service hearings. He emphasized that the office seeks to challenge unsupported or imprudent costs, find value for customers, and use expert analysis and customer testimony to shape outcomes. He highlighted recent and ongoing matters, including major Duke, TECO, Sunshine water/wastewater, and hurricane recovery proceedings, and said the office had fully litigated four of its last five rate cases, while also achieving a major settlement in Duke that reduced a requested increase and imposed cost controls on solar projects. Members praised the office’s work and asked about the benefits of settlements, staffing and compensation, and how the office decides when to fully intervene versus provide guidance or monitor a case. Truerweiler said settlements can create predictability, reduce uncertainty and expense, and produce tangible value for both customers and utilities. He also acknowledged recruitment challenges, including lower pay than comparable agencies and difficulty attracting attorneys who do not want in-person litigation work. The committee took no substantive action beyond receiving the presentations, and adjourned after a motion was adopted.

Transcript Highlights:

• ... ...as a committee what the process has been like for rulemaking.
• And, you know, we have the appellate process.
• The process, well, I do think that it is worth exploring...
• The process, well, I do think that it is worth exploring Thank you.
• It's part of the process of getting from finding a probable cause, getting through the process, if you

Summary: The Joint Administrative Procedures Committee heard a presentation from Representative Esposito on a proposal to strengthen oversight of agency rulemaking under Chapter 120. The bill would require cost-benefit analysis at the front end and after implementation, create an eight-year sunset and review process for rules, and require express legislative authority for agency rulemaking. Members questioned the lack of concrete examples of burdensome rules, the effect on already slow rulemaking, the choice of an eight-year sunset, and the bill’s origin; Esposito said she was working with stakeholders and cited her chamber-of-commerce background and research with the Cicero Institute. No vote was taken on the bill itself. Staff then reported on legislatively mandated rulemaking from 2023 and 2024, noting that most required rules had been adopted, proposed, noticed, or scheduled, with a few agencies still outstanding. The Department of Financial Services explained a delayed notice of rule development for the MySafe Florida Home condominium pilot program as an oversight that has since been corrected, and the Department of Education said it did not proceed with rulemaking for the Fostering Prosperity grants because the program received no funding in the 2025 budget. The Department of Health described delayed rulemaking for the sickle cell disease and trait registry, saying the registry and opt-out forms were being implemented and that notices of rule development had now been filed. Members pressed the department on why rules took so long and discussed the need for statutory deadlines. The Department of Children and Families reported on two 2023 human-trafficking-related rules: signage requirements for residential treatment facilities and children’s safe homes, and a new certification process for adult safe homes. DCF said the signage rule is now moving forward and the adult safe home certification rule has been submitted for final review after workshops and stakeholder feedback. Senators questioned the lengthy timeline and the lack of oversight during the interim, while the chair emphasized the need for time-certain deadlines in legislation and for JAPAC oversight hearings. The committee also considered staff-proposed amendments to Chapter 120 addressing emergency rules pending legislative ratification and the process for initiating ratification, including a one-year limit and notice to JAPAC. After discussion, the committee voted to forward the proposed amendments to the Senate President and House Speaker. Finally, members discussed a proposed amendment to the administrative law judge appointment and retention process under Section 120.65. DOAH’s interim director opposed the change, saying ALJs and workers’ compensation judges have different functions and warning against shifting appointment power to cabinet officers whose agencies appear before DOAH. Members raised concerns about timeliness, consistency, and accountability in DOAH decisions. The committee voted to forward this proposal as well, with Senator Smith voting no on that motion.

Transcript Highlights:

• ><00:16:15.040> immediiacy competitive process in which immediiacy competitive process in which
• <01:17:52.560> and has eroded trust in the process and has eroded trust in the process and
• It's a consensus project process. It's a consensus building<01:20:34.400> process.
• So um we went forward building process.
• <01:33:25.840> is of 1% or whatever the um PILT process is of 1% or whatever the um PILT process

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I also want to note that he's been very much in touch with understanding the process that's been going
• We're going to go through a vote, and the vote is if you approve of that process, reject it, or abstain
• We're going to go through a vote, and the vote is if you approve of that process, reject it, or abstain
• Commission staff did confirm that number in the original study.
• because although he hasn't been present in person, I have definitely felt his presence throughout this process

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Special Commission on the Public Health Effects of Xylazine held its fifth and final public meeting to review and approve the final draft of its report before submission to the House and Senate clerks. Chair Mindy Domb opened the meeting, noted Senator John Keenan’s absence due to National Guard deployment, approved the prior meeting minutes, and explained the process for incorporating final edits and late votes into appendices. Commissioners then voted to allow staff to make agreed-upon language changes after the meeting, and later voted on the final report itself. Staff walked commissioners through the report’s redlines and substantive updates. Changes included clarifying that xylazine is an active adulterant rather than simply a bulking agent, replacing “non-clinician” with “non-clinical staff,” removing or revising references to “hotspots” in favor of more accurate language about local trends, and refining language on wound care to refer to medical consequences and financial costs. The report also added or strengthened discussion of harm reduction measures such as drug checking, mobile health services, overdose prevention centers, oxygenation and airway support during overdose response, and the importance of naloxone remaining available while recognizing its limits for xylazine exposure. Commissioners also discussed data collection, legal protections for drug checking, and the role of the Attorney General in guidance and coordination on emerging drug threats. The commission then took a final vote, with the members present voting to approve the report. A letter from Senator Velis, who was also absent due to active duty orders, was read into the record expressing support for the report and its recommendations. In closing comments, commissioners and staff thanked one another for the collaborative work and described the report as a useful public health resource. Chair Domb adjourned the meeting at 11:11 a.m., noting that the final report would be submitted and posted online for public access.

Transcript Highlights:

• requirements to conduct certain repairs on residential buildings, which, if implemented, would speed up the process
• We can confirm, but that was their first concern when they saw this.
• may recall, in the last session, the legislature passed SB 2388 by Betancourt, which established a process
• So we, you know, we're, we're comfortable with this process, but do want to get our questions out there
• So we just built, we're in the process of building a $34.5 million plant that 10 years ago or 8 years

Bills: HB24

Keywords: groundwater, conservation, water permits, sustainability, resource management

Transcript Highlights:

• And this is an important process excuse me that prevents excessive bleeding when a blood vessel is injured
• Want to get in line and create a much safer but more efficient process of actually disposing of these
• Madam Chair us briefly want to thank staff always reminded of the committee process and how important
• wants to the Olympic Situation Cross my mind that sitting it's that's why I love this collaborative process
• We've had 70 human cases confirmed by the CDC, including a fatal one in Louisiana.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Quorum was confirmed. We talked about transparency in the public process.
• So I would love any feedback that folks had on how they see the nomination process going.
• And I wanted to hear from folks: any suggestions for how they think that that process can go?
• And I wanted to hear from folks how any suggestions for how they think that that process can go.
• I think it's a good process.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The commission met to advance planning for a proposed Cape Verdean Cultural Center in Massachusetts, with members emphasizing the historical significance of Cape Verdeans in the Commonwealth and the need to complete a feasibility study over the next year. After roll call and introductions of new participants, the commission unanimously approved the prior meeting minutes. Members also reviewed and approved a draft nomination criteria document, with a small edit to explicitly include Cape Cod in the geographic representation language. A substantial portion of the meeting focused on expanding commission membership. Rochelle Barbosa presented criteria aimed at ensuring regional, gender, generational, and sector diversity, along with needed expertise in areas such as history, museums, architecture, fundraising, nonprofit governance, language preservation, legal issues, and community organizing. The commission discussed several organizations and institutions that should have designees, including Bridgewater State’s Cape Verdean studies program, Mili Mila, the Schooner Ernestina Morrissey Advisory Board, and the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Members also reviewed a long list of suggested nominees and identified possible gaps, including legal expertise and representation from Taunton and Cape Cod-area communities. Because the commission had 16 additional nominees for 12 remaining seats, members agreed that more vetting was needed before final appointments. Representative Vieira proposed, and the commission approved, forming a three-member nominating committee consisting of Senator Miranda, Commissioner Monica Vega, and Commissioner Manny Lopes. The committee was tasked with narrowing the list and bringing back recommendations for a vote at a later meeting. Members also discussed scheduling another meeting before the end of the month so appointments could be finalized and the commission could begin its work plan, including monthly meetings, listening sessions, and visits to cultural institutions. The meeting adjourned after those next steps were outlined.

Transcript Highlights:

• Even right process was supposed to be.
• And that's that doesn't similar process.
• So um but you know certainly it process.
• appeal process appeal process um um um for<01:25:23.760> uh for uh for uh if<01:25:25.360
• their statute and they have a process their statute and they have a process where<01:27:06.800><

Bills: HF3465, HF3782, HF4075, HF391, HF3946, HF2976, HF3350

Keywords: theft, vulnerable adults, public safety, penalties, Minnesota statutes, chemical irritants, law enforcement, transparency, building owners, tenant rights, notification, remediation, firearm restrictions, domestic violence, court orders, criminal convictions, firearms prohibition, gun surrender, order for protection, protective order

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:10:40.000> applications that we can process applications that we can process applications
• help guide this process in the future. help guide this process in the future.
• everybody a fair shake in the process. everybody a fair shake in the process.
• process with a six member review panel. process with a six member review panel.
• The process that we ran.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm very excited that we got our primacy over that. ...permitting process.
• I hope we all can agree that this process is inefficient and must be improved.
• And should have a more streamlined process to obtain primacy.
• It's an efficient process.
• of where they are within primacy, so making that a more transparent process.

Transcript Highlights:

• process, but amplifies its problems. process, but amplifies its problems.
• <01:45:53.520> Um due process. Um due process.
• This process, this principle of due process in our U.S.
• This process, this principle of due process in our U.S.
• Where is their due process?

Keywords: 981, all

Summary: The Senate opened with the pledge, approved the January 30, 2026 journal, and then proceeded out of order for several personal privileges and resolutions. Members welcomed delegates from Poland and noted the Jewish holiday of Tu Bishvat. The chamber then took up Senate Joint Resolution 001, which approves the water project revolving fund eligibility list administered by the Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority. Sponsors explained that the resolution only establishes project eligibility and does not itself set funding amounts. The resolution passed 32-0, and the current roll call was added as co-sponsors. The Senate next considered Senate Joint Resolution 006, a lengthy measure affirming civil rights and dignity for immigrant Coloradans and calling for transparent, accountable federal immigration enforcement. The resolution urged an end to anonymous enforcement tactics, protection of access to schools, health care, courthouses, and other public spaces, and broader federal immigration reform. Senator Weissman moved a technical amendment correcting a reference from ICE to CBP in one example; the amendment was adopted 32-0. Debate featured personal stories from supporters about immigrant family histories and service, while the Minority Leader said he appreciated the sponsors’ engagement but could not support the resolution as drafted, though he agreed with much of its intent and called for more constructive dialogue. The resolution passed 20-12, and several senators were added as co-sponsors. After the resolutions, the Senate moved into the Committee of the Whole for second reading of bills on the consent calendar. Senate Bill 10, concerning clarification of definitions used in the taxation of agricultural property, was adopted on second reading and reported out favorably. The chamber then began consideration of Senate Bill 4, concerning who may petition a court for an extreme risk protection order, with the sponsor noting two technical amendments had been added to improve the language. The committee report on that bill was adopted, and the bill was moved forward on second reading.

Transcript Highlights:

• We appreciate your interest and participation in the legislative process.
• Uh, today we're going to have a bit of a two-part process to get the bill into the form Senator Westlin
• What I want to make sure and just confirm my understanding, both current law and if this proposed language
• Secretson can illuminate us. >> Um, Madam Chair, Senator Lucero, basically I'm just confirming what the
• <01:18:55.440> what basically I'm just confirming what basically I'm just confirming what

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• He said he would confirm how that process works.
• Commissioner Lucero said he would circle back and confirm how the process works.
• Commissioner Lucero said he would circle back and confirm how that process works.
• , and he will confirm how that process works.
• Commissioner Lucero said he would like to circle back with Senator Kun and confirm how the process works

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Um in the actual grant review process.
• process. Okay, keep reading that one. process. Okay, keep reading that one.
• So that is community reviewer process.
• the beginning of the grant process the beginning of the grant process during<00:59:46.559> the
• <01:20:49.520> if think I think in terms of a process if think I think in terms of a process

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• It is a process that is bidirectional.
• It is a process that is bidirectional.
• It is a process that is bidirectional.
• It is a process that is bidirectional.
• in our system and it is a um uh process in our system and it is a um uh process that<01:25:50.840

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• It really was just more of, like, an isolated kind of learning about my identity in my process, which
• It really was just more of, like, an isolated kind of learning about my identity in my process, which
• My process, which isn't to say that that was bad, you know, like what I was able to find was immense.
• The feedback from our member organizations confirms these trends.
• The feedback from our member organisations confirm these trends.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Summary: The Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee held an informational hearing on the impact of social media on LGBTQ-plus youth, focusing on benefits, risks, and possible safeguards. Chair Bauer-Kahan and Assembly Member Ward opened by noting that social media can be a lifeline for LGBTQ-plus youth seeking identity, community, and support, but also exposes them to cyberbullying, hate speech, exploitation, misinformation, and addictive design. They framed the hearing as a way to inform future policy without relitigating prior bills, and emphasized the need for a balanced approach that reduces harm while preserving access to affirming resources. The first panel featured lived-experience testimony from Madi Roby of the Alliance for Trans Youth Rights, Shea Gardner of LGBT Tech, and Casey Pick of the Trevor Project. Roby described how social media helped her understand her trans identity, find community, learn safety information, and access crisis support through the Trevor Project, while also exposing her to harassment and threats. Gardner argued that lawmakers should regulate harms more precisely rather than impose broad access restrictions, warning that age-gating and account bans could exclude vulnerable youth and adults who rely on pseudonymity, while supporting privacy-preserving protections, targeted platform accountability, and digital literacy. Pick testified that LGBTQ-plus youth are more than three times as likely to attempt suicide as peers, cited Trevor Project research showing social media is both positive and negative for most youth, and said supportive online spaces can lower suicide risk and anxiety; she also described Trevor Space as a moderated, non-addictive platform with forums, direct messaging, and strong community norms. Committee members then questioned the panel about algorithmic feeds, addictive design, age verification, and whether platforms should be required to provide safer defaults and better moderation. Several members distinguished between personalized feeds and addictive or incendiary engagement loops, and discussed the risk that age-verification systems could require sensitive data or restrict access to helpful content. Witnesses repeatedly said the problem is not online community itself but platform design choices and weak enforcement, and they urged more precise regulation of harmful features rather than exclusionary bans. The committee then moved on to panel two, which was introduced as a discussion of LGBTQ-plus-specific online resources and research on LGBTQ-plus youth and social media.

Transcript Highlights:

• to the Child Maltreatment Investigations Oversight Committee, and I'm going to ask for a motion to confirm
• The process has been in place now for over a decade, and we've made considerable improvements.
• We bring them in as quickly as we can, and we go ahead and start the assessment process.
• The next page, this one's just an overview of the clinical process.
• Here we go, and this is just the intake process.

Summary: The Senate and House Joint Committee on Children and Youth met to approve prior minutes, confirm Representative Mary Bentley to the Child Maltreatment Investigations Oversight Committee, and receive several presentations. The Arkansas Infant and Child Death Review team reported on unexpected child deaths in Arkansas, saying its 2023 review covered 148 of 170 non-natural deaths, with the remainder unavailable due to criminal investigations or missing records. Of the reviewed deaths, 69 were accidents, 14 suicides, 18 homicides, and 47 undetermined, and members discussed how the report’s recommendations could be used by agencies and nonprofits for prevention work and grant applications. Committee members also asked about age breakdowns and how the data could be shared without identifying individual cases. The committee then took up HCR 1010 and a broader discussion of juvenile justice reform. Representative Shepard said the resolution was intended to confront data on juvenile incarceration and system outcomes. Senator Missy Irvin, judges Troy Braswell and Kathy Hess, and AOC Juvenile Division Director Burke Steen described the state’s long-running reform efforts, including the SAVRY risk assessment, diversion programs, and efforts to keep more youth in their communities. They said the reforms have reduced delinquency filings, DYS commitments, and revocations, while increasing diversions, but also emphasized ongoing gaps in mental health, substance abuse, and school-based supports. Members raised concerns about school data sharing, behavioral health access, and how to better identify youth with disabilities or trauma earlier. Judge Braswell and others stressed that many youth in the system have significant trauma, family instability, or unmet treatment needs, and that judges need individualized information to make decisions. Several members discussed the role of schools, the school safety dashboard, and the need for stronger community providers, especially in rural areas. The committee then heard from DYS Director Michael Crump, who provided data on commitments, facility use, demographics, offense levels, length of stay, education outcomes, recidivism, dual DCFS/DYS custody, and costs. He said commitments rose after the pandemic and then began to decline, while secure and detention costs increased with the need for more beds; he also noted that most youth in custody have behavioral health needs and that DYS works closely with DCFS, courts, and providers. No final action was taken on HCR 1010 during the discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• This will not remove the process for these reforms.
• Our lives have been devastated by Lennie's death, and we are only just beginning the long process of
• Once the Texas Rangers took over the identification and recovery process, I returned to my office.
• She educated our family through her thought process.
• It's natural to go through grief in that process. So, don't run from it; run to it.

Keywords: 1185, senate, all