Transcript Highlights:

• you know I I think high school students you know I I think high school students should<00:02:40.360
• <00:14:06.759> behaviors managing increasing student behaviors managing increasing student
• <00:15:21.279> one<00:15:21.519> last students one last students one last consideration
• students most importantly our students students most importantly our students benefit<00:35:29.480
• <01:03:38.440> teachers<01:03:39.440> student pockets of student teachers student pockets

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Just really quickly, I see some students in the audience, and I wanted to welcome y'all, fellas.
• Many of our schools in the south end and the east bank serve small student populations, 150 to 300 students
• Many of our schools in the Southern Inn and the East Bank serve small student populations, 150 to 300
• students, and they're located 40 to 70 miles from the central offices and support.
• the students, those very same students, are not exempt.

Summary: The House Committee on Transportation met on April 22, 2026, with a quorum present and took up several transportation-related bills. HB 988 by Rep. Bagley, which changes the fee distribution for current and retired legislators’ special prestige license plates so the proceeds would support the Pentagon, was reported favorably without objection. HB 1001 by Rep. Marcel, designating a portion of US 190 as the Jesse Jackson Memorial Highway, was also reported favorably without objection after brief remarks honoring Jackson’s civil rights legacy and a moment of silence. The committee then considered HB 989 by Rep. Boyer, which updates fees public license tag agents may charge. After testimony from the Louisiana Public Tag Agent Association and Commissioner Keith Neal, Rep. Phelps offered an amendment to exclude Shreveport from the fee increase; the committee rejected that amendment on a 13-2 vote, and the bill itself was then reported favorably on a 13-2 vote. HB 1192, creating a Louisiana Dental Hygienist Association specialty license plate, was amended to remove language narrowing eligibility to association members and then passed favorably without objection. HB 1032 by Rep. Wiley, clarifying statutory references related to operating a motor vehicle under the influence, was amended technically and reported favorably without objection. Later, HB 748 by Rep. Brough, exempting school board-owned and leased vehicles from tolls on bridges and highways, was amended to include leased vehicles and an effective date. Testimony from Plaquemines Parish school officials and the district attorney described toll costs tied to the Belle Chasse bridge, and the bill was reported favorably without objection. HB 1108 by Rep. Omade, creating a homeschool pride specialty license plate, was reported favorably without objection after discussion of the plate design and the intended recipient organization. Finally, HB 1081 by Chairman Wright, restructuring the Louisiana Ports and Waterways Investment Commission under the Office of Multimodal Commerce, was amended to clarify administrative placement and terminology and then reported favorably without objection. The committee adjourned after completing its agenda.

Transcript Highlights:

• pass the logical sniff test. pass the logical sniff test.
• for every student. for every student.
• students with a physical disabilities. students with a physical disabilities.
• . students. students.
• students. Thank you. students. Thank you.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• can link and generate reports um that we can link and generate reports um about<00:08:45.120> student
• <00:08:45.440> performance<00:08:45.839> through about student performance through
• or individuals in the state of students or individuals in the state that<00:15:41.120> who<00
• Further, many libraries are GED testing centers.
• Further, many libraries are GED testing Further, many libraries are GED testing centers.<00:57:24.319

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Interim Joint Committee on State Government met for its first meeting and heard a presentation from the Kentucky Center for Statistics (KY Stats) by Executive Director Matt Barry and Legislative Director Calli Arnold. The presentation reviewed KY Stats’ statutory background, its evolution from KESUS, its board membership, and its role in housing Kentucky’s longitudinal data system and labor market information office. Barry explained that KY Stats links data from multiple state sources, validates and cleans it, deidentifies it, and uses it to produce reports, evaluations, and responses to data requests for policymakers, practitioners, and the public. Barry described the scale of the system, noting more than 6,000 active data elements, 178 unique file types, and data from 48 sources across 26 agencies. He highlighted the agency’s privacy and security practices, including separate servers for source data and deidentified reporting data, and said KY Stats does not use real-time data. He also outlined the types of reports produced, including the annual high school feedback report and a recent life outcomes report tracking the 2017 public high school cohort’s postsecondary education, completion, wages, and employment outcomes. Members asked about the timeliness and availability of data, especially SNAP and Medicaid information, and Barry said most data arrive annually or quarterly and that Medicaid data had been used in a limited one-time project rather than as an ongoing feed. Questions also focused on artificial intelligence; Barry said KY Stats has not integrated AI but is exploring it cautiously because of privacy and security concerns. Several members encouraged further work with AI tools, while Barry emphasized that any use would need to protect confidentiality. The committee also discussed staffing and funding, with Barry saying KY Stats has about 49 total staff and annual funding of roughly $3.1 million in state general funds, plus federal labor-related funding. Committee members praised the agency’s work and suggested legislators may not fully understand its capabilities. No votes or formal actions were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• I serve English learners, immigrant students, and migratory students.
• CSU and UC systems to help students and faculty adapt to AI.
• And across California, teachers and students are struggling to adapt, okay?
• I'm Fred Padilla, a student in support of the California Education Interagency. funding.
• The professors don't feel equipped to really teach students how to use AI well.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The money is supposed to follow the student, but the students are on the move before, during, and after
• We're paying for students. students move back and forth between and among private and homeschooling and
• 270 million dollars we're paying for students we're paying for students.
• Students we're paying for. That's $270 million we're paying for students we can't locate.
• The bill requires the Department of Education to assign a student ID to all students so we can keep track

Summary: The Senate convened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and several introductions, including recognition of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority’s Founders’ Day and a visiting debate student. The chamber then received and adopted, by a 39-0 vote, a committee report confirming 52 gubernatorial executive appointments to various state, regional, and local boards and commissions. The first major bill was SB 250 on rural communities, described as a broad “Rural Renaissance” package. Sponsor Senator Simon outlined provisions creating an Office of Rural Prosperity, a Renaissance Grant Program for counties facing population loss, housing and transportation investments, additional funding for rural education, and rural health care support. Two amendments were adopted to remove overlapping grant language tied to new federal rural health funding and to update hospital funding estimates. Senators from both parties generally supported the bill, though some raised questions about eligibility for certain rural areas and how funds would be accessed. The bill passed 39-0. The Senate then took up CS/SB 318 on educational scholarship programs. Senator Gates said the bill responds to Auditor General findings by separating scholarship funding from public school funding, requiring student identification and enrollment verification, reducing administrative fees for scholarship funding organizations, requiring annual audits, and directing the Department of Education to develop a competitive selection and performance-based business plan for those organizations. Three amendments were adopted, including changes to the stabilization fund and documentation requirements. Senators from both parties debated transparency, accountability, and implementation concerns, with some also urging future attention to declining-enrollment school districts and the quality of scholarship providers. The bill passed 38-0. At the end of the session, the Senate waived rules to immediately certify SB 250 and CS/SB 318 to the House, welcomed Palm Beach County visitors in the gallery, and adjourned until the next scheduled meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:25:51.200> and it they come in and they get tested and it they come in and they get tested
• <00:27:22.320> these we're not just going to test these we're not just going to test these
• <00:28:39.520> for wildfires who wants to be tested for wildfires who wants to be tested for
• And then I also have students, um, former students, and, uh, friends who also asked us to come in because
• then I also have students um former students<00:47:41.839> from<00:47:42.480> uh<00:47:

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The House Committee on Public Safety held an informational briefing on the second anniversary of the Maui wildfires, with Chair Dela Alani framing the discussion around emergency preparedness, recovery, and lessons for future disasters. The main presentation came from researchers involved in the Maui Wildfire Exposure Study, who described the project as a grassroots academic-community partnership that has enrolled more than 2,000 adults and children for health screenings, social assessments, and biomonitoring. They said the study has documented elevated mental and physical health conditions, housing instability, unemployment, barriers to care, and exposure to heavy metals and other toxicants, while also noting some modest improvement in adult mental health and self-rated health compared with the prior year. The presenters emphasized that wildfire impacts remain severe two years later. They reported that about half of adult participants had worsening health since the fires, roughly 40% had direct or frequent fire exposure, and many adults showed chronic disease burdens such as hypertension, diabetes, and respiratory impairment. They also said about half of adult survivors reported depressive symptoms, about a quarter had moderate to severe anxiety, more than 4% had considered suicide in the prior month, and nearly one in four had PTSD. A clinician from the Lahaina Certified Community Behavioral Health Center described the clinic’s no-turn-away model, with case management, therapy, psychiatric evaluation, and medication management for anyone who needs it, and urged lawmakers to fund and expand that approach. The researchers also highlighted environmental findings, saying urine testing of more than 1,200 adults found heavy metal signatures that differed between burn-zone residents and those on the perimeter, with higher levels associated with displacement and ash re-exposure. They said about 20% of participants had higher-than-expected heavy metal levels 6 to 12 months after the fires, and cited a negative association between nickel levels and lung function. They argued for long-term monitoring, better cleanup methods, and a centralized health surveillance system tied to community outreach. No vote or formal committee action was taken during the briefing; the chair said the presentation materials and related reports would be posted for public access, and members were invited to ask questions after the presentation.

Transcript Highlights:

• ,<02:40:07.439> a<02:40:07.680> real<02:40:07.920> a radon test to test our
• homes, a real a radon test to test our homes, a real a real<02:40:08.399> concern<02:40:08.640
• <02:40:34.240> whether access directly to water tests whether access directly to water tests
• to locate any issues of concern and test to locate any issues of concern and test any<03:07:36.960
• certain water fees and testing. certain water fees and testing.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Feingold: establishing privacy standards for student and education data.
• Feingold, establishing privacy standards for student and education data.
• For example, Costco is currently doing beta testing using their customers' data to target consumers on
• For example, Costco is currently doing beta testing using their customers' data to target consumers on
• In response, Yago and Kawe organized student walkouts, public protests, one of which I was invited to

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Senate opened with the Pledge of Allegiance, recognized several guests in the chamber, and adopted a resolution congratulating Coleman-Nee on election as National Commander of the Disabled American Veterans. It also took up several local and personnel matters, including a sick leave bank for Emily Cullick and later Paul Stavarski, and local bills affecting the town of Weston and a Dorchester housing/library procurement exemption; those measures were advanced to third reading or engrossment as appropriate. The chamber also suspended Joint Rule 12 to refer several House petitions to committees. The main business was Senate No. 2516, the Massachusetts Data Privacy Act, which came before the Senate on a Ways and Means substitute (Senate Document 2608). Senators Creem, Moore, Charles, Feingold, Keenan, and others spoke in support, describing the bill as a comprehensive consumer privacy measure with data minimization rules, limits on sensitive data, protections for minors, and strong Attorney General enforcement. Several amendments were debated, with many rejected or withdrawn, while some were adopted, including provisions on geolocation data protections, opting out of targeted advertising, affiliate and merger/acquisition protections, internal operations exemptions, parental access to child data, and a Ways and Means amendment. A number of other amendments on employee data, union data, loyalty programs, AI training, reporting, and related issues were either not adopted or held/withdrawn. After the amendment process, the Senate adopted the amended Ways and Means substitute and ordered the bill to a third reading. The bill was then passed to be engrossed on a roll call vote of 40-0. The Senate also adopted an order to adjourn to the following Monday at 11:00 a.m. and to dispense with printing a calendar. The session adjourned in memory of Darrow Logan Alexander of South Boston.

Transcript Highlights:

• What qualifications are required, and who can administer the test of driving when they're doing all of
• We have Yuma Proving Grounds, where all of our allies test all their weapons. I can't imagine.
• My students try to kill me every hour in a plane, let alone all the other pilots and all the students
• These fees go to anybody in aviation, students, anybody training, all of it.
• These fees go to anybody in aviation, students, anybody training, all of it.

Bills: HB2003, HB2063, HB2111, HB2116, HB2210, HCM2007

Keywords: driver education, instruction permit, underage drivers, motorcycle licenses, traffic regulations, corrections oversight, appropriation, independent office, public safety, funding, driver license, examinations, motorcycle awareness, traffic laws, HB2116, Colorado River, litigation fund, water rights, Arizona water law, general fund appropriation

Transcript Highlights:

• to schools with lower-income students, from schools that that don't serve 6th through 12th grade students
• to schools that do serve 6th through 12th grade students.
• Decreasing because we're not providing the services that students need.
• But where are we seeing that decrease in student membership?
• My understanding is if the student is identified with a test, it's in Korean.

Transcript Highlights:

• Researchers testing these toys have found alarming outcomes.
• The truth of the matter is, we don't have a test.
• We don't have a testing regimen that we know to be safe.
• EFF's lawyers currently represent a Ph.D. student whose data was turned over to ICE because Google did
• Our A-plus student can leave. When you're ready. Okay. Okay. When you're ready.

Summary: The Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee heard a long agenda focused largely on AI-related consumer protection, child safety, and privacy bills. Members first adopted the consent calendar, then took up SB 1050, which would require disclosures when advertisements use AI-generated or synthetic performers. Supporters, including SAG-AFTRA, Common Sense Media, and labor groups, said consumers should know when an ad depicts a non-human performer and that the bill protects both consumers and workers. Opponents from TechNet, the Motion Picture Association, broadcasters, and business groups argued the bill was too broad, lacked a deception standard, could burden accessibility uses and short audio ads, and created litigation risk. The committee voted the bill out on a party-line-leaning roll, with several members noting concerns but supporting continued work on the measure. The committee also approved SB 1111, which creates liability and remedies for non-consensual digital replicas using a person’s voice or likeness, and SB 1146, which targets deceptive AI-generated health advertisements that depict synthetic health care providers. Both measures drew support from consumer, labor, medical, and child-safety advocates and faced no formal opposition. Members emphasized the need to prevent deepfake abuse, especially in health-related ads where consumers could be misled into trusting fake doctors or medical endorsements. Several child- and privacy-focused bills were also heard and advanced. SB 867 would place a four-year moratorium on AI chatbot-powered toys for children, with supporters warning about harmful content, addictive design, and privacy risks; some opposition raised definitional concerns and asked for clearer standards. SB 1247 would give child influencers the right to delete monetized content posted during their minority, and it moved forward without opposition. SB 1000 updated California’s AI Transparency Act to align content provenance rules with newer technology and international standards, with support from Google and Adobe and no opposition. Finally, SB 957 would require social media companies to notify users when the federal government seeks their data through administrative subpoenas, give users time to challenge the request, and report disclosures; supporters framed it as a First Amendment and due process protection, while one member opposed it as an overreach against federal law enforcement. All of the measures discussed were reported out of committee, with several rolls left open for absent members.

Transcript Highlights:

• Furthermore, several programs, like HRSA's scholarships for disadvantaged students designed for students
• from disadvantaged backgrounds, often students of color.
• diverse student body is essential to its educational mission.
• And so students take on a tremendous amount of debt.
• These schools predominantly educate students of color.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Racial Equity, Civil Rights, and Inclusion held a hearing on the impact of federal policy on the racial wealth gap in Massachusetts, the fourth in a series on federal impacts on racial equity. Chair Bud Williams and Chair Miranda opened by emphasizing that no bills were being heard and that the committee would instead take testimony from invited witnesses; public written testimony was also accepted. The chairs and witnesses repeatedly cited long-standing wealth disparities affecting Black and brown communities, including homeownership, wages, business ownership, and access to capital, and linked those disparities to federal policy changes, housing, education, health care, and workforce development. Administration officials testified first. Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Lauren Jones described persistent labor market disparities, including higher unemployment for Black and Latino residents, lower median hourly wages, and underemployment among degree holders, and highlighted state efforts such as ESOL-for-work funding, workforce training grants, MassHire career centers, skills-based hiring, and the state equity dashboards. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kiami Mahania argued that poverty drives poor health, not the reverse, and said wealth gaps contribute to chronic disease, maternal health inequities, medical debt, and shorter life expectancy; she pointed to the Advancing Health Equity Massachusetts initiative, a health care affordability working group, and the governor’s push to bar medical debt from credit reporting. Assistant Secretary Juan Vega of EOED focused on entrepreneurship and procurement, citing technical assistance grants, founder support programs, place-based investment, the Business Front Door, and the need to broaden access to contracts, capital, and business growth opportunities. Committee members pressed the panel on the effects of the federal “big beautiful bill” on households, especially single-parent and Black women-led households, and on whether the state could develop more timely data systems instead of relying on federal numbers. Officials said the impacts were still being monitored, but warned that Medicaid and SNAP changes would likely hit lower-income households and community institutions hard. Members also asked about unions and apprenticeships, microbusiness definitions, supplier diversity, pay equity, and degree inflation; the administration said registered apprenticeships and skills-based hiring are key tools, and noted that wage equity reporting is still in its early stages. Later testimony from BECMA’s Nicole O’Bean stressed that tariffs, DEI rollbacks, immigration enforcement, capital gaps, and federal funding cuts are constraining Black-owned businesses and inclusive procurement, while Gastón Institute researchers described severe Latino homeownership and rent burdens, educational inequities, and the need for housing, labor, and education policy changes to close the wealth gap.

Transcript Highlights:

• Did you know that many rural school students and their families opt... school students and their families
• opt out of CMAS testing?
• I met with a student just yesterday from Regis... with a student just yesterday from Regis who came to
• My good colleague has indicated that those students would... indicated that those students would still
• Each student would have lost $500 instead of one population of students losing all of their money under

Keywords: 981, all

Transcript Highlights:

• FOR FPS UA STUDENTS.
• IT WAS A NOT BY INDIVIDUAL STUDENT.
• THEIR PAIN THEIR STUDENTS.
• WE DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THE STUDENT ACCOUNTS. ONLY SFO'S HAVE ACCESS TO STUDENT ACCOUNTS.
• SEPARATING PUBLIC STUDENTS FROM SCHOLARSHIP STUDENTS IN OUR FUNDING MODEL.

Transcript Highlights:

• Products, this PCS does the following: It regulates independent laboratories that are required to test
• The PCS regulates Kratom packaging to include aspects such as testing number, total number of servings
• beverage sales, and we're also borrowing some of the regulatory Framework, particularly with regards to testing
• They tested them. I don't want to get into all of that.
• And we needed to test for Kratom because if you add Kratom on top of, whether it's methadone, suboxone

Transcript Highlights:

• It was tested on-road, off-road.
• It was tested RPMs. It didn't slip. It was tested onroad,<00:47:11.800> off-road.
• provide a consistent approach to student provide a consistent approach to student safety,<01:35:
• They're not happy because they test.
• <02:10:30.440> failed because their emissions test failed because their emissions test failed

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• qualified students per year that<00:06:34.640> graduate.
• The University of Minnesota graduates 35 licensure-qualified students per year.
• Now, the majority of mortuary schools are first-generation students like myself.
• And student pharmacists for 12 years.
• I believe you were students at the time I believe you were students at the time when<01:25:53.640>

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We also cover all of our students.
• So at any time, a student can exit because we don't believe that a student needs to stay four years if
• So at any time, a student can exit because we don't believe that a student needs to stay four years.
• Our students go grocery shopping.
• And so our students are working.

Summary: The committee first approved the minutes from November 17 by motion and voice vote. It then heard a presentation from Arkansas State University on its inclusive postsecondary education programs, HOWL and ATLAS, led by Dr. Kristen Johnson and Shane Broadway. The programs serve students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including autism, by providing on-campus living, academic support, life-skills training, financial literacy, internships, employment support, and community integration. Johnson explained that HOWL is a comprehensive transition program that does not lead to a degree but is eligible for financial aid, while ATLAS is degree-seeking and provides additional supports. She reported strong outcomes, including high goal attainment and a majority of graduates working full time, and emphasized that the programs are designed to help students build autonomous adult lives. Members asked about recruitment, eligibility, costs, school outreach, business partnerships, and transition planning. Johnson said the programs have done extensive outreach through IEP meetings, transition symposia, email blasts, and school visits, but that awareness remains a challenge. She identified major roadblocks as business concerns about liability, fragmented collaboration, and difficulty navigating funding streams such as vocational rehabilitation and Medicaid. She also said more coordinated statewide communication and coalition-building are needed, and noted that ASU is helping launch a state alliance for similar programs, with new programs opening at ASU Mountain Home and the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff. The committee then heard from the University of Central Arkansas about Project Ascend, a new low-sensory living-learning community for neurodiverse students in Hughes Hall. Dr. Debbie Daly and Jeremy Gillum described it as a voluntary, self-identified program focused on community building, belonging, and retention rather than remediation or degree planning. The program has hosted a few low-sensory social events and plans to expand outreach through campus tours, orientation, and targeted communications. Members asked about recruitment, participation, success measures, and how to avoid duplicating ASU’s efforts; UCA said it is still in its infancy and will measure success mainly through participation, retention, and student engagement. The meeting ended with general support from members, discussion of collaboration across institutions and agencies, and adjournment of the task force.

Transcript Highlights:

• Crystal holds a standard and an expectation of excellence for our students.
• Being a building principal, certainly we go through disciplinary actions with students.
• Thank you, Principal Rousk. impact on the students um that I think impact on the students um that I think
• Thomas law student. Welcome to the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee.
• My name is Blair Kirby, and I'm a second-year law student at the University of St.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all