Transcript Highlights:

• And, and other agencies, financial and educational agencies as well, but what you said is correct.
• In sections 4904, 4905, 06, and 065, the penal code and chapter 71 of the penal code.
• The Texas Government Code 501, inmate welfare subchapter B addresses mental health conditions.
• I am in opposition to the bill because of the fact that you already have a penal code in place.
• This penal code is nothing more.

Transcript Highlights:

• Help Foxborough be ready, educate, train, and prevent. So we did.
• It's proving the need for maltreatment coding.
• specific code recognizing the abuse and neglect of LGBTQ youth.
• Currently, Massachusetts lacks a standardized maltreatment coding system.
• A robust maltreatment coding system would serve two vital functions.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities held a hybrid hearing on a series of child welfare bills focused on DCF, foster care, mandated reporting, educational records, and family support. Chair Kennedy and Chair Livingstone opened with accessibility and testimony rules, then heard testimony on bills including S.127 on expanding mandated reporters, S.107/H.235 on a Foster Children’s Bill of Rights, S.106/H.228 on transferring foster care review from DCF to the Office of the Child Advocate, H.258/S.125 on an electronic backpack for foster children’s educational records, H.205 on kinship foster care background checks, H.246/H.266 on minimizing trauma in care and protection cases, and S.159 on support for families after sudden unexpected infant death. Supporters of the mandated reporter bill, led by Sen. Feeney and Foxborough advocates, described a local model that trains all adults who work with children and argued the state should scale that approach statewide to improve recognition and reporting of abuse. Testimony on the foster care bills emphasized the need for clearer rights, better notice to children and attorneys, stronger remedies, and independent oversight. Advocates, youth with lived experience, and legal organizations described placement instability, delayed notifications, abuse in care, poor educational continuity, and the need for rights around safety, family contact, culture, language, and access to records. Several witnesses urged that the Foster Children’s Bill of Rights include enforceable court remedies, not just reporting requirements. On the oversight bill, supporters argued DCF should not review its own foster care system and pointed to poor outcomes, high placement instability, and recent investigative reporting as evidence for moving review responsibilities to the Office of the Child Advocate. On the electronic backpack bill, testimony focused on the need for real-time data sharing and a centralized system so schools can receive foster students’ records quickly and support continuity. On the trauma-minimization bill, Rep. Miskin framed the proposal as a set of practical changes to reduce harm during removals and court involvement. On the SUID bill, Sen. Lovely said families should be given information about available grief and support resources after an infant death. No votes were taken during the hearing; the committee primarily received testimony and questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• educator code of conduct and this is regulated by a body called ESPEC that we are their staff.
• So, Texas Education Code, Chapter 49, 154B, the legislature essentially has already addressed this problem
• The education code as amended by House Bill 3 requires that this new compression as property values grow
• There's 3.5 that is completely new outside of what is required by the education code.
• That's what is currently required by the education code. And that's where we get the three, though.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Prior to that, there were different factions of the code, different versions of what the code might be
• Minnesota had a state fire code, so prior to that there were different factions of the code, different
• versions of what the code might be based on region, what a city adopts.
• criminal justice training and education criminal justice training and education which<00:17:06.360
• <00:57:47.280> and<00:57:47.520> policy and education and policy and education and

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The Texas Education Code and past actions of this body have prioritized a well-rounded education for
• The Texas Education Code and past actions of this body have prioritized a well-rounded education for
• a well-rounded, meaningful education.
• Thank you very much. ...and inclusive education to all in our state because education changes lives for
• public education system.

Bills: HB2

Keywords: disaster preparedness, emergency management, flooding, mass fatality, mass casualty, fatality tracking, body recovery, autopsy, justice of the peace, medical examiner, county judge, sheriff, mayor, emergency coordinator, emergency manager license, volunteer management system, volunteer registration, criminal history check, background check, Texas Division of Emergency Management

Summary: The committee continued public testimony on House Bill 2, which would make major changes to public school funding, teacher pay, special education, early learning, school safety, and related programs. Many superintendents and education advocates supported the bill’s overall direction but urged changes, especially a larger basic allotment and more flexible funding for rural and small districts. Witnesses from Paint Creek, West Hardin, Cushing, Blooming Grove, Mildred, Buffalo, Plano, and rural school groups said the bill’s targeted raises and new requirements would not fully cover inflation, TRS/Medicare costs, transportation, insurance, or support staff salaries, and several asked the committee to restore the House version’s higher basic allotment and small-school allotment. Charter school representatives supported the facilities funding changes and said charter schools need state help because they cannot levy taxes, while also noting the funding gap with ISDs. Fine arts advocates asked the committee to restore the fine arts allotment, arguing arts improve engagement, attendance, and academic outcomes, especially in rural and at-risk communities. Early learning and special education witnesses supported parts of the bill but raised concerns about pre-K restrictions, disability-related pre-K access, and the need to preserve or clarify special education provisions and mental health oversight language. Several witnesses praised the teacher pay raise, teacher incentive allotment expansion, and teacher preparation investments, saying they would help recruit and retain educators and improve student outcomes. Others, including counselors and support staff advocates, argued the bill should also include raises for counselors, nurses, librarians, bus drivers, custodians, aides, and other non-teaching employees who keep schools running. One witness from the Texas Counseling Association opposed the substitute because it removed a counselor pay provision, warning of counselor shortages and inequities. A parent and special education advocate said the bill’s structure creates too many strings attached and asked for a larger basic allotment instead of more targeted funding. Another witness from Mental Health America urged keeping the collaborative task force on public school mental health services through 2031, and a disability rights advocate said the committee substitute appears to omit some special education items that were in the House version. The committee also briefly took up House Bill 6, a school discipline bill. After questions about automatic mandatory expulsion for vape possession and concerns about younger students, the committee adopted the substitute and voted to report HB 6 favorably to the full Senate by a 9-1 vote, with Senator Menendez voting no and Senators West and Menendez expressing reservations but supporting further discussion. After that vote, testimony on HB 2 resumed. Senators used the hearing to ask about the bill’s cost, the difference between the basic allotment and the bill’s targeted funding buckets, and whether the permanent teacher pay increase shifts pressure off districts. The bill’s supporters emphasized that it represents an historic, roughly $8 billion investment and that many of the new funding streams are intended to be permanent or to address specific district needs.

Transcript Highlights:

• > Native Without the code talkers, Native Without the code talkers, Native Americans<00:07:36.720
• , languages into an unbreakable code, languages into an unbreakable code, American<00:07:41.360><
• fairness and education? fairness and education?
• Treasury than the education of the American people, early childhood education, K through 12, higher education
• Treasury than the education of the American people, early childhood education, K through 12, higher education

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• My name is Dave Foley, and I'm here representing almost 30,000 human service workers and educators with
• And I'm here representing almost 30,000 human service workers and educators with SEIU Local 509, who
• tax codes work in fundamentally different ways.
• Every state's tax code is full of loopholes, including the Commonwealth.
• My name is Keith Mishon and I serve as president of the Fall River Educators Association.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Revenue, chaired by Senator James Eldridge and Representative Adrian Madaro, opened its hearing with a moment of silence for the late Lowell State Senator Ed Kennedy and reviewed hearing procedures and deadlines. The committee then took testimony on several corporate tax bills, including S. 2033/H. 3110 on offshore tax avoidance, H. 3248 on a manufacturing tax exemption, H. 3057 on a tiered corporate minimum tax, and S. 2041 on a corporate tax haven blacklist, along with a separate business interest deduction bill. No votes were taken during the hearing. Supporters of S. 2033/H. 3110, including labor unions, health care workers, educators, public health advocates, seniors, and several legislators, argued that Massachusetts needs new revenue to offset federal cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, health care, education, and other services. They said the bill would raise roughly $400 million annually by increasing the share of offshore profits included in the state tax base from 5% to 50%, and they framed it as a fairness measure that would require large multinational corporations to pay more while leaving most local businesses and workers unaffected. Testimony emphasized risks to MassHealth, PCA services, adult dental care, hospitals, schools, and public health programs if new revenue is not raised. Opponents, including the Mass Taxpayers Foundation and the Council on State Taxation, argued the proposal is poor tax policy and likely unconstitutional because it would tax foreign-source income without allowing foreign tax credits or a comparable apportionment method. They said Massachusetts should take a broader, coordinated approach to federal tax changes rather than a standalone bill, and warned of litigation risk and possible double taxation. Supporters such as MassBudget and former tax counsel Don Griswold countered that the bill is a reasonable rough-justice approach, consistent with federal and neighboring-state treatment, and that it would primarily affect a small number of very large multinationals. On S. 2041, the Global Business Alliance opposed the proposed tax haven blacklist, while supporting a separate bill allowing business interest deductibility.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:29:24.200> Progress, of Educational Progress, of Educational Progress, also<00:29:26.200
• but I'm sure that any of us educators but I'm sure that any of us educators would<00:31:13.160><
• <00:36:22.400> with Committees on Education with Committees on Education with recommendations
• , Education, Education, a<00:37:08.520> representative<00:37:09.200> from<00:37:09.440>
• code on their bottle. code on their bottle.

Keywords: 926, house, all

Summary: The House resumed consideration of H.606 on firearm procedures and first took up Section 3 and its effective dates. A member from Northfield spoke at length in support, arguing the provision is narrowly tailored, based on actual dangerousness rather than mental illness alone, and is more limited than federal law because it applies only to specific court findings and is temporary, with rights restorable upon recovery. The House then approved Section 3 and its effective dates, approved the remainder of the Judiciary Committee report, and ordered third reading. The chamber then moved through third readings and passed H.385 on remedies and protections for victims of coerced debt, H.556 on exceptions to the state minimum wage, H.559 on the parole board, H.723 on posting of land, and H.757 on manufactured homes and limited equity cooperatives. On H.814, relating to neurological rights and AI in health and human services, the House adopted an amendment offered by the member from Burlington that required the advisory council to include proposed definitions for neurotechnology, artificial intelligence, and related terms in its report; the House Health Care Committee reported the amendment favorable 11-0-0, and the bill then passed. H.816, regulating the use of artificial intelligence in the provision of mental health services, also passed, as did H.927, technical corrections for the 2026 session. The House then took up H.930 on chronic absenteeism. The committee member from Manchester described the bill as an AOE proposal responding to high post-pandemic absenteeism rates and their impact on learning, and outlined provisions adding definitions, updating compulsory attendance language, requiring a state model policy, strengthening notification and truancy procedures, and preserving existing penalties. The member said the Education Committee heard from a wide range of education and child welfare witnesses and passed the bill 11-0. After a brief clarification on the absences section, the House proceeded toward third reading of H.930.

Transcript Highlights:

• We moved from codes in New Hampshire.
• And that's what fire code and building code demands be built.
• And that's what fire code and end.
• complies with safe fire code complies with safe fire code requirements<04:18:38.640> of<04
• So there is a discrepancy between our building code and fire code, and we have to fix that.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Codes code issues best address this by requiring the building code review board to update the code to
• There's a plumbing code, a mechanical code, electric code, and so forth.
• So code, electric code, and so forth.
• building code. building code.
• or um up to code in a particular municipality code.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The tax code did that.
• The tax code did that.
• To Education: Senate Bill 263.
• educated uh professionals, engineers. educated uh professionals, engineers.
• She's somebody that valued education. She's somebody that valued education.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Senate convened with an invocation and pledge, established a quorum, excused absent senators, and approved the journal. The clerk reported House-passed bills and Senate bills received from the House, and several Senate bills were read a second time and sent to the Rules Committee. Committee reports recommended passage of multiple measures, including bills from Appropriations and Revenue, Health Services, Natural Resources and Energy, State and Local Government, and Transportation. The chamber then moved to orders of the day and took up Senate Bill 50 and Senate Bill 191, while Senate Bill 137 and Senate Joint Resolution 54 were passed over and retained in the orders of the day. Senate Bill 50, relating to the disposition of property, was explained as a broad update to trust, probate, and intestacy law. Supporters said it would streamline probate when there are no disputes, add privacy protections for decedents’ estate information, give courts more flexibility, set retention and filing-fee rules for wills, recognize electronic wills and other uniform-law concepts, and allow transfer-on-death designation for motor vehicles. A floor amendment removed inheritance-tax provisions and corrected technical issues; it was adopted, and the bill passed 35-1 after debate in favor from several senators and no substantive opposition. Senate Bill 191, creating the Kentucky Kindergarten Readiness Performance-based Child Care Incentive Pilot Program, was also amended and passed. The bill would establish a three-year pilot administered by the University of Kentucky College of Education, providing a one-time $2,000 per child incentive payment or refundable tax credit to child care providers and low-income families when children are assessed as kindergarten ready. A floor amendment clarified that the study and recommendations must comply with federal child care regulations; it was adopted, and the bill passed 35-1 after a senator changed a vote from no to yes. The Senate then recessed for Rules and Committee on Committees meetings, after which the rules committee posted additional bills to future orders and the committee on committees referred several bills and resolutions to standing committees. Several members also made announcements about upcoming committee meetings, a legislative breakfast, a fish fry, and condolences for a community member.

Transcript Highlights:

• Overall, yes, ma'am, that particular statute has written in that we write the fire code.
• Department of Education on Zoom, but I think was going to be in person. Kamia schools?
• Department of Education on Zoom, but I think was going to be in person. Kamia schools?
• No, I think... be in the fire code which is part be in the fire code which is part currently<00:40:34.800
• <01:10:07.640> and education and education and unfortunately<01:10:10.120> that's<01:10

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The committee first took up SB 534, a measure concerning development in Kakaʻako Makai involving the Hawaii Community Development Authority and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. The chairs explained that the hearing was decision-making only and no testimony would be accepted, though members could ask clarifying questions. The chair outlined amendments to clarify HCDA’s approval process, require an environmental impact statement before residential development proposals are submitted, require Department of Health documentation on hazardous substances, and specify that only OHA-owned parcels would be eligible for certain residential development with a 400-foot height limit and maximum floor area ratio of 10.0. The amendments also addressed affordability, owner-occupancy, association fees, and a special fund, while noting Attorney General concerns that the fee could be construed as a tax and suggesting further review by Judiciary and Ways and Means. Members discussed the affordability threshold, with one senator suggesting 160% AMI instead of 140% due to high housing costs and concern that essential workers could be priced out. Others raised concerns about Native Hawaiian affordability, the long-term effect of perpetuity restrictions, and whether the process would protect OHA’s interests. An HCDA representative said 140% AMI was used in existing reserve housing rules and that lower thresholds could make development economically infeasible. OHA and other supporters said the proposal was still early in planning and emphasized the need for public hearings, community input, and compliance with environmental and remediation standards. The committees voted to pass SB 534 with amendments: Water and Land approved it 4-1, and Hawaiian Affairs also adopted the chair’s recommendation, with one member excused and one voting no. The meeting then moved to SB 3, relating to water resource management. The bill would authorize the Commission on Water Resource Management to retain independent legal counsel, create an executive director position, allow challenges to emergency orders under certain conditions, establish fines for water use offenses, and revise emergency and shortage declaration procedures; Red Hill-related provisions were noted as removed from this version. Testimony was largely supportive, including from DLNR, the Board of Water Supply, OHA, and Sierra Club, with OHA stressing the measure’s importance to Native Hawaiian water rights and past litigation. A Department of Hawaiian Home Lands representative supported the bill with amendments and recommended explicit language directing the commission chair or designee to advocate for water rights and reservations for homelands. The chair indicated the committees would use the prior Senate-passed version as the basis for further action, and the discussion then moved on to SB 130, a search-and-rescue reimbursement bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• So if we come to the Educator Committee, we're going to the Educator Committee, We play with everybody's
• If you didn’t know, in gifted education she was a gifted education teacher in Columbia way back when.
• There's five core courses in gifted education.
• specialized educational service that requires sustained investment to be effective Thank you. educational
• So even if in the Code of Ethics, that's more going to be talking about the Code of Ethics within the

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THE SOUTHERN REGIONAL EDUCATION BOARDS COMMISSION ON AI AND EDUCATION
• THE GROUP INCLUDES EDUCATORS, STATE LEADERS, HIGHER EDUCATION EXPERTS AND BUSINESS PARTNERS.
• THUS THEIR CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER OTHER VP OF EDUCATION US WORLDWIDE VICE PRESIDENT OF EDUCATION.
• YOUR POINT HOW DO WE CONTROL EDUCATION?
• WHAT DOES AI FOR EDUCATION MEAN?

Transcript Highlights:

• This is a human right that people with disabilities have in our state to be educated to the best of their
• They are called experts and they're not, and this would get them at least a little education for kids
• Over time, amendments to the Family Code have refined these provisions to balance parental rights with
• CLE and other educational opportunities to talk about our court, um.
• The bankruptcy code has related to jurisdiction and it's, what is it, 28 USC 1334.

Transcript Highlights:

• Many of you talked about homeowner education or consumer education.
• :17:54.640> education.
• education or consumer education. education or consumer education.
• Um, so they have technical codes.
• So most insurance companies carry code upgrade coverage, meaning if the building code today requires

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Online, it asks for a code, I type it in.
• School nursing education are related, health subjects, funds, school nursing education are related, held
• and special education laws.
• That's some things in Children's Code.
• is and where education and health care intersects now?

Summary: The committee heard a personal privilege update on HB 1227, which Representative DeWitt said would return next week as a proposed HCR for a two-year study of the three-doctor panel after discussions with Dr. Nia Colotta. Better Louisiana also presented its new Leadership Louisiana Health Fellows Program, describing it as a data-driven leadership initiative focused on health care workforce, rural access, chronic disease, and other system issues; members discussed whether the program could also help generate policy research, including on managed care organizations. The committee then considered SB 427 on anatomical gifts. After adopting technical amendments, Senator Presley and Dr. Jeff White explained that the bill would strengthen organ donation law by creating a decision registry that records both yes and no choices, clarifying the legal effect of refusal, and codifying ethical principles such as the dead donor rule. Questions focused on organ viability, registry procedures, minors, and a Monroe case involving a disputed donor designation. Supporters included LOPA and the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the bill was reported favorably. HB 946, dealing with hospital price transparency and compliance with federal pricing rules, drew extensive testimony. Representative Landry and a witness from Patient Rights Advocate described it as a consumer transparency measure, but the Louisiana Hospital Association opposed the bill’s state-level enforcement and debt-collection provisions. Landry offered an amendment removing the debt-collection and affirmative-defense language, but after debate the substitute failed on a 5-6 vote and the bill was voluntarily deferred. The committee also reported favorably on SB 109, which revises membership qualifications for the Louisiana Emergency Medical Services Commission; SCR 20, urging federal flexibility on Medicaid redetermination for elderly and disabled beneficiaries; SB 216, allowing coroners to rely on licensed practical nurses for medical pronouncements of death; and SB 45, exempting certain gratuitous hospice houses from licensure, with testimony from hospice house operators and supporters. Finally, HCR 71 by Representative Chasson sought an LDH study of how Louisiana’s law and guidance on pregnancy-related emergency medications is working in hospitals, urgent care, and retail settings. Supporters said providers are hesitant to use medications such as misoprostol because of stigma and uncertainty, while opponents from Louisiana Right to Life argued the resolution was unnecessary and could create controversy. The discussion centered on whether the study should be narrowed or made more objective, but no final action on the resolution was reached in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• Senate Bill 64, germane, thence referred to the Education Committee.
• Senate Bill 83, germane, thence referred to the Education Committee.
• And if I may, Madam President, the mental health code is in the developmental disabilities code.
• And if I may, Madam President, the mental health code is in the developmental disabilities code.
• Senate Education will be meeting in Room 311 Monday morning at 8:30.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• There is a flexibility to ensure that restaurants do their menu with a QR code.
• and the California Adult Education Administrators Association.
• Dawn Kapke on behalf of the California Council for Adult Education and California Adult Education Administrators
• Thank you. funds and education fund in support of SB 509. Thank you.
• CFA is the largest education higher education union in the country and we proudly center anti-racism

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• rather than the current California building code.
• Today, I rise to present AB 560, the Supporting Special Education Act, Special Educators Act.
• , bilingual education.
• AB 908 simply adds compliance monitoring that would existing requirement in the education code regarding
• Students have a right to an equitable education.

Keywords: 988, house, all