Transcript Highlights:

• Steven Alleman on behalf of Disability Rights Texas testifying for the bill. Is that correct?
• I'm Stephen Aleman with Disability Rights, here in favor of the legislation.
• In special education settings, where students may be nonverbal, disabled, or unable to self-advocate,
• No two students with disabilities are the same, and their safety plans should reflect that.
• We have Maya Volk on behalf of Disability Rights Texas registered on the bill but not testifying.

Bills: SB 13, SB 27, SB 57, HB1325, HB1655, HB3312, HB5526, SB13, SB57, SB207, HB441, HB591, HB5019, SB27, SB843

Keywords: lobbying, public funds, political subdivision, local government, county association, municipal lobbying, registered lobbyist, Texas Legislature, taxpayer lawsuit, injunctive relief, attorney's fees, government finance, county dues, state association of counties, sheriffs association, law enforcement officers, legislative advocacy, bill tracking, legislative alerts, Government Code Chapter 556

Transcript Highlights:

• will include the Department of Health Care Services, the Department of State Hospitals, and the Commission
• Include the Department of Health Care Services, the Department of State Hospitals, and the Commission
• As a result, preventable disability, education and job loss, and in the worst cases, homelessness and
• So we will welcome Executive Director Grealish of the Commission on Behavioral Health.
• us here this evening to talk to you a little bit about the Commission for Behavioral Health and some

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• will include the Department of Health Care Services, the Department of State Hospitals, and the Commission
• As a result, preventable disability, education and job loss, and in the worst cases, homelessness and
• So we will welcome Executive Director Grealish of the Commission on Behavioral Health.
• So we will welcome Executive Director Greelish of the Commission on Behavioral Health.
• Executive Director Grealish of the Commission on Behavioral Health.

Summary: The hearing focused first on behavioral health, especially serious mental illness and anosognosia, a condition described by witnesses as a neurological symptom that prevents people from recognizing they are ill. The chair framed the issue around families cycling through emergency rooms, jails, conservatorships, and short-term stabilization without lasting treatment, and warned that federal changes under H.R. 1 could reduce Medi-Cal funding and worsen access. Dawn Marie Anderson gave a personal account of her son’s long history of psychosis, homelessness, arrests, repeated jail and state hospital stays, and eventual stability when he received sustained medication and coordinated support. She argued that the system often treats the problem as criminal rather than medical and that voluntary programs and short-term services are not enough for people who lack insight into their illness. Other panelists, including representatives from the California Behavioral Health Association, Santa Barbara County Behavioral Health, and the County Behavioral Health Directors Association, agreed that anosognosia is not denial or noncompliance and said the system needs long-term, coordinated care, including assertive community treatment, mobile crisis, supportive housing, medication support, and stronger handoffs between county and managed care systems. They said CalAIM and other reforms have improved some coordination, but significant gaps remain, especially for people with serious mental illness, for those in jail or locked settings, and for people with private insurance, which witnesses said often offers little meaningful coverage for early psychosis or intensive behavioral health services. Several witnesses urged the Legislature to protect Medi-Cal, shore up county safety-net services, and invest in training and family engagement. The committee then turned to the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative, with a focus on the virtual services platforms BrightLife Kids and Soluna and the CYBHI fee schedule. DHCS reported strong growth in app registrations, coaching sessions, referrals, and positive user outcomes, saying the platforms provide free, culturally responsive, early-intervention support statewide and help connect users to higher levels of care when needed. On the fee schedule, DHCS said more than 500 LEAs, colleges, universities, and school-linked providers are participating, 181 LEAs have submitted claims, and $9.6 million has been reimbursed to date, with 41,556 students represented in claims. The chair and several members criticized the pace of implementation and the amount of money spent relative to reimbursement levels, saying the Legislature had requested data earlier and that the return on investment still appeared low. DHCS responded that many claims are still being submitted, that 70% of denials are correctable, that $400 million in capacity grants has been distributed locally, and that reimbursement is increasing rapidly as more districts come online. Public comment included a rural county behavioral health director who said private insurance denials leave counties with significant uncompensated work, especially for unlicensed staff providing case management and mobile crisis services.

Transcript Highlights:

• post-graduating from high school, and requiring those institutions to come before the Higher Ed Commission
• Those institutions would come before the Higher Ed Commission and petition and make their case for why
• I did have an opportunity to sit down with the Higher Education Commission and ask these questions.
• If the user is under 16 years of age, the account must be disabled from using direct messages from anyone
• So the Gaming Commission cannot approve an application for a casino to be located in one of those three

Keywords: 964, all

Transcript Highlights:

• For the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, there are no changes from the Governor's budget, but there
• Finally, I will cover the BCP investments for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
• I'll be providing a May Revision update for the California Student Aid Commission.
• Thank you, California Student Aid Commission. Welcome.
• Catalina Missel, the Chief Deputy Director of the Student Aid Commission.

Summary: The committee heard the May Revision presentation for the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance, with public comment focused heavily on K-12 priorities such as universal school meals, kitchen infrastructure, food service and custodial support, youth leadership grants, Special Olympics funding, English learner support, universal pre-K, literacy investments, and concerns about community college funding shifts. Speakers also urged support for expanded learning, teacher recruitment and training, and maintaining or increasing funding for community colleges and student support programs. Finance and the LAO then reviewed the Proposition 98 outlook. Finance said the May Revision lowers the 2025-26 Prop. 98 guarantee to $114.6 billion, about $4.3 billion below January, due mainly to lower revenue estimates, with smaller effects from attendance and property tax changes. The administration also described rebenching for universal transitional kindergarten and a one-time rebench tied to Los Angeles fire-related property tax losses, along with changes to the Public School System Stabilization Account, deferrals, and updated COLA assumptions. The LAO said the budget relies too much on deferrals and one-time funds, creates a structural shortfall, and should instead align ongoing spending with the guarantee and preserve a reserve buffer. Members questioned the TK rebench and the shift of funding from community colleges to K-12, asking why it was being applied retroactively and how colleges would be held harmless. Finance said the changes align funding with where TK costs are being incurred and that reappropriation funding and other adjustments would offset impacts on community colleges. The LAO argued the historical split formula is outdated and should be abandoned in favor of budgeting around current priorities rather than fixed percentages. Members also raised concerns about draining the rainy day reserve and using deferrals, while the LAO said preserving reserves would better protect against future volatility. The committee then moved to specific K-12 and education proposals. Finance outlined May Revision changes including state operations adjustments for the Department of Education, technical trailer bill changes, a $100 million student teacher stipend program administered by Kern County, and updates to the charter school facility grant program. The LAO recommended rejecting the proposed increases for expanded learning, literacy coaches, and the student teacher stipend as currently structured, while supporting the minimum grant increase for expanded learning. Members expressed support for teacher recruitment efforts but questioned whether one-time funding can sustain ongoing programs and whether the student teacher stipend should be targeted to shortage areas or low-income communities.

Transcript Highlights:

• Development, art commissioning, exhibitions, business development, and all of the opportunities
• She works with the public library to bring art instruction to adults with developmental disabilities
• <00:52:47.119> through<00:52:47.559> collaborative disabilities through collaborative disabilities
• Without getting the Legacy funding we request, we will be disabled from many activities because of lack
• To fill the gap that disables us from fulfilling all the requests that the communities need, without

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

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• <00:09:24.440> to<00:09:24.680> support Lottery Commission to support Lottery Commission
• The commission decided that it was about—we commissioned a study with a gaming company that does gaming
• <00:48:37.119> was does that came out of the commission was does that came out of the commission
• .. commission right so last year you also commission right so last year you also had<01:44:02.880>
• <01:44:27.920> shall Securities and Exchange Commission shall Securities and Exchange Commission

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• SB 433 protects California's low-income older adults and people with disabilities from unreasonable rate
• Hello, Carol Schwartzlander, California Commission on Aging in support.
• Carol Swartzlander California Commission on Aging in support.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• that are here to testify that may need some additional time to move some of our developmentally disabled
• folks. ...to move some of our developmentally disabled folks are here.
• bill from last year, and we still face the same problem: an increasing number of developmentally disabled
• Maybe we have to go to the corporation commission. I'm open enough to this can of worms here.
• Senate Bill 1179 removes the delayed repeal date of the developmental disabilities group home monitoring

Bills: SB1072, SB1111, SB1114, SB1116, SB1122, SB1179, SB1250, SB1308, SB1455, SB1456, SB1457, SB1487, SB1547, SB1549, SB1551, SB1552

Keywords: reimbursement rates, intellectual disabilities, community services, economic security, funding appropriations, automated license plate readers, law enforcement, privacy, data access, public records, behavioral health, patient brokering, appropriation, state funds, Maricopa County, claims review, medical necessity, American Indian health program, healthcare regulations, healthcare

Transcript Highlights:

• We're fully funding that, the Benacquisto Scholarship Program, Children and Spouses of Deceased and Disabled
• ...fully funding that, the Benacquisto Scholarship Program, Children and Spouses of Deceased and Disabled
• Medicaid provider rate increases, $13.3 million in additional resources in support of developmental disability
• Within the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, there's funding for artificial reefs, wildlife
• Senators, Senate Bill 1202 ensures that firefighters who are permanently and totally disabled due to

Summary: The Appropriations Committee met for Budget Day and heard presentations on the Senate’s proposed 2025-2026 budget, SPB 25-200, totaling $117.4 billion. Chair Hooper said the plan reduces overall spending from the prior year, keeps strong reserves, includes a 4% pay raise for state employees, maintains employee health care contributions, and makes major investments in water quality, transportation, and education infrastructure. Committee chairs then summarized their budget silos, including K-12 education, higher education, health and human services, criminal and civil justice, transportation/tourism/economic development, and agriculture/environment/general government. Members asked questions mainly about school funding, AP and dual enrollment support, voucher and scholarship impacts, and the My Safe Florida Home program. The committee adopted a large consent package of amendments and then approved three late-file amendments: funding virtual college tours for high school students, funding the FSU Sunshine Genetics program, and providing money for the Port of Fernandina customs facility. The committee then voted to report SPB 2500, the General Appropriations Bill, as a committee bill. It also favorably reported SPB 2502 (implementing bill), SPB 2504 (state employees placeholder), SB 7022 (Florida Retirement System contribution rates and DROP changes), CS/SB 1320 (recreating the Resilient Florida Trust Fund), SPB 2506 (gaming compact revenue distributions, including water projects and rural lands), SPB 2508 (29 new judgeships), SB 7014 (ending the court mediation and arbitration trust fund), SPB 2510 (K-12 conforming bill), SPB 2512 (higher education conforming bill), and SPB 2514 (health and human services conforming bill). The committee also took up several policy bills. It approved SB 7028 on cancer research, creating grant parameters, reporting requirements, a five-year pediatric cancer research incubator, and the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute VisionGen Initiative. It approved CS/CS/SB 170 on nursing home quality, adding resident satisfaction surveys, medical director standards, safety culture reviews, electronic health record requirements, financial reporting penalties, and a study of best practices. It approved CS/CS/SB 168, the Tristan Murphy Act, which expands mental health diversion options, adds Hillsborough County to a forensic hospital diversion pilot, expands grant uses, and creates a behavioral health data repository. It also approved SB 114 creating the Florida Center for Excellence in Insurance and Risk Management at FSU and moving the public hurricane loss model there. The committee then began considering SB 180 on emergency preparedness and response, including a late-file amendment, but the transcript cuts off before final action on that bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• To ensure that Veterans understand the law. to help them with health care and disability benefits they
• With their VA disability claims, it resulted in $21 billion in awarded claims to veterans.
• Hopefully, intended to make it easier for non-toxic exposed veterans to file for and receive disability
• delays decisions and wastes taxpayer dollars to the unnecessary scheduling of disability exams.
• Half of them are... service-disabled.

Keywords: veteran services, homelessness, unemployment, VA funding, mental health, congressional oversight, testimonies, American Legion, Dole Act, suicide prevention

Summary: This meeting focused on veteran services, emphasizing the urgent need to address the alarming rate of unemployment and homelessness among veterans. Numerous testimonies were presented detailing the impact of mass furloughs and cutbacks at the VA on personnel, notably veterans who were serving as employees. Various representatives expressed deep concern over how these firings could drastically affect the quality of care available to those who have served the nation. There was a strong call for Congress to bolster funding for existing programs aimed at alleviating veteran homelessness and improving overall care quality, especially in mental health services.

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• out children and youth who are in vulnerable positions due to their age, race, economic status, disability
• According to the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission, a sentence for the crime committed is 144
• Even though there was a small change in the law in 2021, Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission data
• suffer bodily harm during the commission suffer bodily harm during the commission of<01:26:56.000
• of Health must also be commission of Health must also be provided<01:37:55.960> to<01:37:56.239

Keywords: 1183, house

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• I'm also chair of the Southwest Transit Commission. I'm here to strongly oppose this proposal.
• Hi, my name is Carol Saefke, and due to a disability, I do not drive.
• <00:20:55.720> who the individual with a disability who the individual with a disability who
• I am currently a member of the Chanhassen City Council, and I'm also on the commission for Southwest
• I have worked with our senior commissions.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Mexico Commission.
• I'm the Chief of Staff for the Public Regulation Commission.
• This idea of professionalizing the commission has really struck a chord with them.
• And the Commission has opened up the additional 300 megawatts.
• Are there other Public Utility Commissions (PUCs) that currently follow that model? Mr.

Transcript Highlights:

• educator voices it creates a commission educator voices it creates a commission of<01:01:37.799>
• have precedent to establish commissions have precedent to establish commissions like<01:16:06.320
• current New Hampshire Civics commission current New Hampshire Civics commission um<01:16:30.440>
• um like some of the other commissions um like some of the other commissions pay<01:17:33.280>
• <03:50:13.319> that Holocaust and genocide commission that Holocaust and genocide commission

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on House Bill 749, which would require high schools to provide at least one hour of instruction on the nature and history of communism. The prime sponsor said the bill was prompted by concerns that students lack basic historical knowledge about communism and its effects, and argued that a short, flexible requirement could be embedded in an existing course without creating a new full class. He described communism as a totalitarian ideology and cited historical examples including the Soviet Union, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Cold War, and current events involving Russia, Ukraine, and Taiwan as reasons students should understand the topic. Members asked whether the subject is already covered in current social studies standards, whether one hour is enough, and whether the bill would apply to public, private, parochial, and charter schools. The sponsor said he did not believe communism is specifically required in current standards, that he would prefer a full course but was proposing a minimal requirement, and that he intended the bill to apply broadly to schools under the Department of Education’s umbrella, though he acknowledged the wording may need clarification for charter schools. He also said the proposal was both reactive and proactive, based on anecdotal concerns and his teaching experience. A second supporter testified that he was born in the Soviet Union and favored the bill, but suggested the instruction should emphasize critical thinking and explain both why communism can appeal to some people and why it can have harmful consequences. No vote or final committee action was taken during the portion of the meeting provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• An act to create a temporary State Commission to study and make recommendations...
• An act to create a temporary State Commission to study and make recommendations concerning the incidence
• maximum rent of one-third of household income for the senior citizen's rent increase exemption and disability
• Senator Comrie: an act to amend the Public Service Law in relation to directing the Public Service Commission

Keywords: 993, senate, all

Summary: The New York State Senate Finance Committee met with Senator John Liu presiding for Chair Liz Krueger, joined by members of the majority and minority. The committee considered a broad agenda of bills covering agriculture, public health, technology, taxation, corrections, education, housing, transportation, and civil rights. Among the measures discussed were a youth agriculture entrepreneurship summer employment program, a Bronx asthma study commission, a statewide multi-factor authentication requirement for governmental entities, a tax on noise emissions from certain helicopter and seaplane flights, a requirement that state events serving alcohol include New York-produced alcohol, a veterans and service members alternative resolution program, packaging reduction and recycling infrastructure legislation, limits on certain debt-collection practices involving foreign sovereign debt, commissary rules in correctional institutions, school energy performance contract recovery periods, a senior rent cap tied to income, a dental health demonstration project, farm succession planning, Operation SNUG gun violence prevention grants, expanded breast cancer screening coverage, direct Medicaid billing for creative arts therapists, a vacant storefront registry, academic credit for volunteer firefighters and EMTs, a plan to expand wheelchair-accessible vehicles outside New York City, STAR exemption notification, restrictions on certain tropical hardwoods in state contracts, a PSC guidebook on gas and electric rate making, gender-affirming care coverage and anti-discrimination provisions, and state leave for Civil Air Patrol members on airport-assigned missions. Most of the meeting focused on the packaging reduction and recycling infrastructure bill, which drew extended debate. Supporters said the bill had been revised after months of discussion with industry, included waivers for food safety and federal-law conflicts, and could save local governments money through producer responsibility funding. Opponents argued it would raise costs, harm food packaging flexibility, threaten food safety, and hurt manufacturers and small businesses, citing examples from dairy, meat, and coffee businesses. The sponsor’s representative said the bill had been updated and that some small businesses would be exempt, while acknowledging not all concerns were resolved. The committee also discussed the fiscal impact, with testimony that upfront state costs would be reimbursed and localities could see savings. Several other bills prompted brief policy discussion, including the helicopter/seaplane noise tax, where staff explained it would be assessed per ticket or up to $200 per flight and exempt quieter aircraft meeting DOT standards, and the sovereign debt/claims bill, where a senator warned it could drive financial activity out of New York. The committee also heard concerns about the packaging bill’s effect on New York food manufacturers and the availability of waivers. After discussion, the committee voted to report the bills; the transcript indicates the measures passed, generally with some members recorded as without recommendation or opposed, and all listed bills were moved to the floor before the meeting adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Department, requiring the Oil Conservation Commission and the Oil Conservation Division of the Energy
• House Bill 49, introduced by Representative Borrego, is an act relating to disability accommodations,
• Mexico by repealing Section 6. and adding a new Section 6 to replace the current Public Education Commission
• for the creation of the Children, Youth, and Families Department, a Children, Youth, and Families Commission

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• AI agent acting autonomously submits 100 Public Records Act requests a day, you could effectively disable
• Yell at the Planning Commission about all of that is fine.
• I also appreciate you taking the language around disability access, which is, as we move towards these
• ... ...around disability access, which is, as we move towards these types of policies, I want to thank
• the disability rights community for bringing up that AI, for quite some time, has been a tool that allows

Summary: The committee began as a subcommittee due to the lack of a quorum and heard several privacy- and technology-related measures. The first item was H.R. 117, a resolution urging Congress to reform Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The author and supporters argued the law is outdated and shields platforms from accountability for harms such as harassment, exploitation, scams, and other online abuse. Witnesses, including a survivor parent and a gender justice advocate, described harms to children, women, and LGBTQ people and urged a two-year sunset to force federal reform. Some members supported the resolution as a call for federal action, while one member said he could not support it because the resolution was too general and lacked specificity about the reforms being sought. No vote was taken because the committee lacked a quorum. The committee then heard SB 898, which would require manufacturers of connected consumer products to disclose how long they will support the software and to notify consumers when products approach end of life. The author said consumers deserve transparency about security updates and continued functionality, and supporters from Consumer Reports and PIRG emphasized cybersecurity risks, consumer confusion, and electronic waste from unsupported devices. Opponents, including business and industry groups, raised concerns about enforcement through the unfair competition law, notice burdens, labeling issues, and compliance challenges, especially for products with long support windows or third-party dependencies. One member expressed support, noting the cybersecurity risks of end-of-life devices, but again no vote was taken because there was no quorum. The committee also heard SB 435, which would narrow the CCPA definition of publicly available information to limit how businesses classify data as public. The author and supporters said the bill would close a loophole that allows data brokers and others to monetize personal information without meaningful consent and could help prevent surveillance and misuse of data, including by government agencies. Opponents argued the bill would upset the balance between privacy and the free flow of information, create compliance uncertainty, and retroactively reclassify information that businesses reasonably believed was public. Some members said they supported the goal of stronger privacy protections, while others said the bill was too broad. The committee again could not vote due to the lack of a quorum. Later, the committee heard SB 923, which would expand Californians’ right to delete personal information to cover data obtained from third parties and require online businesses to offer a web form or similar method for deletion requests. Supporters, including the California Privacy Protection Agency and consumer advocates, said the bill would make deletion rights meaningful and better address data broker practices. Opponents sought an opt-out-of-processing alternative and raised operational and legal concerns, but supporters said deletion is not the same as retention or processing limits. Members largely spoke in favor of the bill’s privacy goals, but no action was taken. The committee also heard SB 947, the “No Robo Bosses Act,” which would require human review for certain automated employment decisions and limit predictive analysis in workplace discipline and termination. Labor groups supported the bill as a safeguard against biased or erroneous AI-driven decisions, while business, public employer, and local government groups opposed it as overbroad and burdensome. Members voiced support for human oversight in employment decisions, but the item was not voted on because the committee still lacked a quorum. Finally, the committee began hearing SB 1114, the SOGI Data Privacy Act, which would restrict disclosure of sexual orientation, gender identity, and intersex data to federal agencies absent a court order or legal requirement; the author and witness framed it as a response to federal efforts to obtain sensitive LGBTQ-related data.

Transcript Highlights:

• As a reminder, Disability Law school.
• Um of the or emotional disabilities.
• <00:10:38.240> Law advocates at Minnesota Disability Law advocates at Minnesota Disability
• <00:18:42.160> of used against boys with disabilities of used against boys with disabilities
• Therefore, it emotional disabilities.

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The Seclusion Working Group approved the minutes from its November 5, 2025 meeting and then heard presentations from Jessica Heiser and Aaron Sansmark of Solutions Not Suspensions and the Minnesota Disability Law Center on the misuse and illegal use of seclusion in schools. They described illegal seclusion as including use outside emergencies, for discipline or noncompliance, beyond the emergency period, in unregistered rooms, without parent notice, without required observation or documentation, for students outside the grade-limit rules, when meals/restroom/water are withheld, or when staff are not properly trained. They emphasized that Minnesota lacks a single reliable data source for identifying illegal seclusion and that families often learn about incidents late, if at all, making complaints and legal action difficult because of barriers such as time, cost, language, and access to advocates. The presenters summarized Minnesota Disability Law Center records, saying they receive about one seclusion-related case per month during the school year, statewide, and that in the cases reviewed over the last year the children were all boys with disabilities, including autism, ADHD, developmental delay, or emotional disabilities; three were white and two were children of color, and four of the five were age 10 or younger. They said all of those families pulled their children from school afterward, and that five of five cases potentially had valid illegal-seclusion claims, though only three pursued legal action. They also noted PACER reports many discipline and behavior calls involving seclusion but does not keep hard records. The presenters proposed better statewide data collection, including identifying school buildings, staff, or students involved, reporting incident duration, and adding a checkbox on MDE complaints to flag restraint/seclusion allegations. A substantial portion of the discussion focused on disproportionality. The presenters cited national research showing students with disabilities and students of color, especially Black boys, are disproportionately restrained or secluded, while acknowledging Minnesota does not have a single statewide racial aggregate for seclusion. Members discussed whether banning seclusion would reduce misuse and disproportionality, whether it could increase physical holds or injuries, and whether the issue should be viewed in the broader context of emergency interventions. Heiser argued Minnesota is moving in the same direction as federal actions and other states that have restricted or banned seclusion, and noted that the current birth-through-third-grade ban has reportedly reduced seclusion by 40%. Other members agreed disproportionality is a serious systemwide problem, but emphasized the need to keep the conversation focused on seclusion and emergency use. No additional votes or formal actions were taken beyond approval of the minutes.

Transcript Highlights:

• This is a strategic effort to value and sustain professionals who ensure students with disabilities receive
• this funding was reserved for certified special education teachers actively serving students with disabilities
• They're validating the expertise and commitment required to serve students with disabilities and the
• to supporting special education workforce and ensuring that all New Mexico students, those with disabilities
• or who have disabilities who are bilingual um in in any um languages um on on our tribes in our tribes