Transcript Highlights:

• Christian University and a bachelor of arts in healthcare administration and an associate's degree in nursing
• Libraries are foundational to our communities, supporting education, access to information.
• Profession, I am a registered nurse.
• and my career has provided me with an opportunity to have a good perspective that's grounded in education
• He went on to get his master's in educational administration, which I think brings some very relevant

Committee: Senate Local and County Government

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Blood spots, pulse oximetry, hearing checks—simple tests a rookie nurse could do.
• It is important to remember that hospital-based nurses have immediate access to a team of physicians
• The Alabama Board of Education supports this bill.
• It's the state department of education, not the state board.
• If you want to do it, why are you not doing it through the state board of education?

Bills: SB87 , HB491 , SB43 , SB101

Committee: House Health

Keywords: midwifery, licensed midwives, State Board of Midwifery, licensure fees, professional liability insurance, complaints investigation, emergency care plan, out-of-hospital care, HB491, public schools, K-12, school nutrition, school lunch, cafeteria, artificial dyes, food additives, food coloring, synthetic dyes, Red Dye No. 3, Red Dye No. 40

Transcript Highlights:

• as well or just private nursing homes as well or just private nursing<01:39:16.000><c> homes?
• </c> nursing homes? nursing homes?
• </c> &gt;&gt; I believe just private nursing homes. &gt;&gt; I believe just private nursing homes.
• </c> scenario that you cited, uh, a nursing scenario that you cited, uh, a nursing home<01:39:27.840>
• So that the nursing home credit.

Committee: House Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It requires certified nursing assistants serving in a nursing home to receive training on recognizing
• Being a former special education teacher, this bill for me caught my eye.
• Being a former special education teacher, this bill for me caught my eye.
• Being a former special education teacher, this bill for me caught my eye.
• home beds in a skilled nursing facility.

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum, opened with prayer, and heard several announcements and recognitions, including remarks from the new Democratic caucus leader, Senator Berman, who emphasized bipartisan work on education, health care, the environment, and family issues. The chamber also recognized military leaders, an intern, and guests connected to later bills. No committee reports or executive messages were on the desk at the start of the session. The Senate then took up a series of bills, many of them with House companion substitutions and technical amendments. Major measures included the Pam Rock Act on dangerous dogs, which passed 36-0; a local government land regulation bill that was amended after questions about quasi-judicial hearings, impact fees, and county costs, then passed 26-8; a vessels/boating bill that incorporated related legislation and passed 35-0; a blood clot screening and treatment bill creating the Emily Adkins Family Protection Act, which passed 36-0; a fleeing or eluding law enforcement bill, amended to remove vehicle impoundment in the House version, which passed 36-0; a concealed carry/firearms bill for certain law enforcement and military personnel, which passed 33-3; and a timeshare management bill, which passed 36-0. The chamber also passed a disability history and awareness instruction bill, the Evan B. Hartzell Act, after extensive debate about language and the meaning of disability versus “unique abilities”; it received 35 co-sponsors and passed 35-0. Other bills passed included manufacturing and related fee legislation, public education on background screening requirements, utility service restrictions, educational opportunities for military children, Medicaid oversight, health facilities authorities, and veteran and spouse nursing home beds, most by unanimous or near-unanimous votes. Several bills were temporarily postponed, including measures on human trafficking, waste management, Bright Futures, mammogram coverage, Parkinson’s disease, and others.

Transcript Highlights:

• It cuts pediatric therapy services and visiting nurse services. Complex kids.
• And then finally, education access and equity.
• Specifically, there's no higher education program for young women at Echo Glen.
• That's the extent of what they can do beyond high school in terms of education.
• We also have emerging adults that need to have their educational attainment and their educational opportunities

Summary: The committee heard testimony on the effects of H.R. 1 on Washington’s Medicaid, developmental disability, long-term care, and food assistance systems, followed by a separate discussion of juvenile rehabilitation caseloads and placement capacity. DSHS officials said HR1 could affect home equity rules, immigration-related eligibility, work requirements for some expansion-population enrollees, and provider taxes, while also creating a future opportunity for a new 1915(c) waiver. Advocates and providers warned that any state response that cuts home and community-based services would worsen already thin provider networks, increase waiting lists, push more people into hospitals or out-of-state placements, and strain families and workers. A pediatric behavioral health expert and a supported living provider said Medicaid reimbursement is already too low and further reductions would threaten outpatient, residential, and inpatient services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and severe behavioral needs. The committee then turned to SNAP and the state food assistance program. DSHS said HR1 would tighten work requirements and exemptions, end some immigrant eligibility for the federal program, eliminate the SNAP education program, raise state administrative costs, and eventually require Washington to share in benefit costs based on its error rate. Officials estimated large numbers of residents could lose or see reduced benefits, with significant added state costs. Anti-hunger advocates, a food bank director, and a SNAP recipient described the program as essential for low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities, and said the changes would increase paperwork, reduce benefits, and worsen food insecurity while also harming local food economies. Testimony emphasized that food banks cannot replace SNAP and that work requirements may be difficult to meet for caregivers, people with disabilities, and those facing child care or transportation barriers. In the juvenile justice portion, the Caseload Forecast Council presented the JR forecast, which is currently mostly flat through the end of the biennium but expected to grow modestly over the longer term. Members discussed how policy choices, including the 2019 JR-25 law, have increased lengths of stay for adult-sentenced youth in JR, while diversion and other reforms have affected regular JR trends. A court researcher explained the data available to help forecast admissions and noted ongoing efforts to improve data sharing with JR, AOC, and county systems, though staffing and system-lag issues limit how quickly data can be produced. Juvenile court administrators and DCYF officials described the community-based juvenile justice continuum, rising complexity in the JR population, overcrowding at Green Hill and placement constraints at Echo Glen and Harbor Heights, and the need for more flexible community transition and mental health capacity. No votes were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> education fund for specified educational education fund for specified educational purposes<00:45
• </c> appropriations from the state education appropriations from the state education fund<00:45:54.160
• </c> the people that are educating you. the people that are educating you.
• homes, skilled nursing facilities.
• Senators, Education. First, it was done in um Education.

Keywords: 981, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I remain, continue some skepticism about the overall education part of the approach.
• I'm a registered nurse, president of California Nurses Association, and co-sponsor of AB 2575.
• However, nurses can observe that a patient's skin may also be clammy.
• AB2575 simply ensures that nurses can still question, intervene, and protect our patients.
• Hannah with the California Nurses Association, sponsor of this bill.

Summary: The Senate Committee on Privacy, Digital Technologies, and Consumer Protection heard several bills focused on privacy, AI, surveillance, and consumer protections. AB 302 would bar schools from excluding students from extracurricular activities because they do not use social media and would require schools to use at least one non-addictive means of contacting students and parents; it drew support from Common Sense Media and no opposition. AB 1705, the Reclaim Act, would require websites hosting non-consensual pornography to verify consent before upload; district attorneys and the Commission on the Status of Women supported it, while TechNet and CCIA opposed or raised concerns. AB 2007 would separate parental consent for a child’s image/likeness from general program enrollment forms in youth programs; educators supported it, while local government and parks groups raised implementation and penalty concerns. AB 2212 would update higher education sexual harassment definitions to include tech-facilitated harassment such as cyberbullying, doxing, and nudification-related abuse; students and advocacy groups strongly supported it, with no opposition. AB 1837 would extend transit agencies’ authority to use camera enforcement in bus-only lanes and at transit stops, with privacy retention limits and human review; transit agencies supported it, while some senators expressed concern about automated enforcement and surveillance, and the bill was placed on call after a split vote. AB 2392 would create an intersegmental higher education working group on generative AI training and procurement standards; it passed 5-0 after amendments removed prerequisites tying AI deployment to completion of the report. The consent calendar was also approved on call. Later, AB 1798 would prohibit life and disability insurers from using non-diagnostic genetic information in underwriting; supporters argued it protects privacy and encourages testing, while insurers opposed the bill as undermining risk-based underwriting, and it advanced on a 3-0 vote on call. Finally, AB 1883 would restrict workplace use of emotion-recognition and neural-data surveillance tools; labor and privacy advocates supported it, employers and local agencies raised safety and litigation concerns, and it passed 3-0 to Labor after narrowing amendments.

Transcript Highlights:

• House Bill 548, FN, specifically also removes a moratorium on nursing home beds, skilled nursing beds
• </c> to nursing homes or or skilled nursing to nursing homes or or skilled nursing facilities.<00:22:
• </c><00:58:29.440><c> homes</c> including of course the nursing homes including of course the nursing
• </c> currently because of your uh nursing currently because of your uh nursing home<01:05:00.839><c>
• ><c> otherwise</c> Medicaid private duty nursing, otherwise Medicaid private duty nursing, otherwise

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The Division 3 work session focused largely on amendment 1176 to HB 2, which would have incorporated the substance of HB 548FN, a House-passed bill creating a direct-pay or membership-based model for health care facilities. Representative Mlan described the proposal as a way to increase competition in health care by extending the direct-care model used in primary care to facilities, arguing it could encourage innovation and that concerns about widespread harm to critical access hospitals were overstated. He pointed to Oklahoma’s long-standing Surgical Center model as evidence that the approach had not spread broadly or displaced hospitals there. Several members and witnesses raised concerns. Representative Stringham questioned whether the model would shift profitable services and patients away from existing hospitals, potentially worsening their finances and affecting Medicaid-related funding. David Ross, speaking for county nursing homes, opposed the language because it also removed moratoriums on nursing home, skilled nursing, inpatient rehabilitation, and self-pay beds, warning that it could increase pressure on Medicaid rates and undermine community-based care. Ben Bradley of the New Hampshire Hospital Association said the proposal appeared to create a separate regulatory framework for direct-pay facilities and raised concerns about patient safety, CMS participation rules, and a separate patient bill of rights. The chair concluded that, because HB 548 was already moving through the Senate, the HB 2 process was not the best vehicle for the policy and that the issue should be left to the Senate’s more deliberative committee process. Representative Ferski moved to not accept or remove amendment 1176 from the agenda, and the committee approved the motion by roll call, 9-0, withdrawing the item from HB 2.

Transcript Highlights:

• Calls to backfill lost federal revenue, but we want to help educate you throughout the interim on what
• Agriculture, education and workforce has already hit their target.
• You can see education and workforce, like, like I said, again, student loan programs, uh, big changes
• That's everything from nursing home care to in-care, in-home care uh types of services.
• We don't have enough doctors and nurses already. Uh.

Transcript Highlights:

• The Higher Education Budget Subcommittee will come to order.
• Representative Booth, you're recognized to explain House Bill 1325 relating to the linking industry to nursing
• education program.
• I'm happy to bring before you today House Bill 1325, which expands the linking industry to nursing education
• As Florida continues to face persistent shortages in the nursing field, this bill helps to strengthen

Transcript Highlights:

• Certainly education, an education campaign is warranted.
• We have nurses, we have peace officers.
• For example, our nurses.
• Across the board, our nurses are making $16,000 on average below other nurses in comparable positions
• For example, the nurses I was speaking of.

Committee: House Appropriations - S/C on Article II

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• at the nursing home.
• going to education.
• Speaker, to educators in my district and yours, broadly to nurses in your district and mine, Mr.
• can actually afford that higher education. ...that we've asked to go and get higher education can actually
• As you know, higher education is specific to higher education, and higher education is... ...higher education

Summary: The House debated a series of amendments to a major income tax bill, with repeated arguments over tax fairness, affordability, administrative feasibility, and the role of the Department of Revenue. Early motions to reconsider a failed child care amendment were rejected, and Amendment 2561, which would have restricted data sharing with the IRS, was also defeated after debate over privacy, federal relationships, and whether the proposal was administrable. Amendment 2579, which would have required annual reporting on the tax’s effects on filers, businesses, and charitable donations, likewise failed, with supporters emphasizing transparency and opponents arguing DOR was not the right agency and the report was too speculative. Amendment 2598, proposing to use half of new revenue for a broad sales tax cut, was rejected despite arguments that it would reduce regressivity and provide immediate relief; Amendment 2556, expanding sales tax exemptions for diapers and other child-care essentials to include adult diapers and earlier implementation, also failed after debate over scope and timing.

Transcript Highlights:

• Speaker, we, your Committee on Education, report that we have had under consideration Senate Bill 1225
• House Bill No. 608 by the Education Committee, an act relating to education, amending Section 33-909,
• Wood manufacturers, chip trucks, and others all contribute to this fund to promote and educate Idahoans
• who has appropriate parental permission, or being assisted by a school staff or a school nurse who has
• House Education Committee will meet Tuesday, February 10th in Room EW 41, Hawkins, Chairman.

Keywords: 989, all

Transcript Highlights:

• ,</c> assistant with documented education, assistant with documented education, training<00:05:30.240
• Um, and as you see registered nurse.
• </c> psychiatric mental health nurse psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner,<00:20:34.880><c> a
• ,</c> assistant with documented education, assistant with documented education, training,<00:20:38.559
• education, training, with a documented education, training, experience<00:36:13.119><c> in</c><00:36

Bills: SF0023 , SF0057

Committee: House Labor, Health & Social Services

Keywords: mental health, involuntary hospitalization, examiners, public safety, Wyoming legislature, hospital pricing, healthcare transparency, public health, civil penalties, shoppable services, 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And right now, the salaries to be a continuous skilled nurse in a hospital is much higher than what it
• Board of Nursing, and currently the CEO of Vitra Health.
• Jones into the nursing home where MassHealth will end up covering all of his living expenses.
• They're left with no choice in some cases but to go to a nursing home to get the care they need.
• This can make the difference between living at home or being forced into a nursing home.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Health Care Financing

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Health Care Financing held a public hearing focused on two broad sets of issues: home- and community-based care, and school-based Medicaid reimbursement. In the morning session, legislators and advocates testified on bills affecting children and disabled enrollees, including proposals to clarify rate-setting for home health and home care services (H. 767/S. 870), allow family members and spouses to be paid caregivers under MassHealth (H. 1394/S. 886 and related bills), extend MassHealth coverage for applied behavior analysis and other therapies beyond age 21 for adults with autism and developmental disabilities (H. 1351/S. 871), and protect medically fragile children by improving access to continuous skilled nursing. In the later portion of the hearing, testimony shifted to a bill to improve MassHealth reimbursement for schools (S. 862), with speakers describing the school mental health crisis and the need to reinvest Medicaid funds directly into school health services. Witnesses on the home care rate-setting bill said current reimbursement methods are opaque and outdated, contributing to workforce shortages, unfilled shifts, long waitlists, and patients remaining in hospitals longer than necessary. Home care providers and trade groups argued the bill would not set rates directly but would require more transparent methodology and fuller consideration of real costs such as wages, benefits, taxes, training, and technology. On caregiver bills, many family members and provider organizations described the financial and emotional strain of caring for disabled or medically fragile relatives, especially when parents, spouses, or guardians are barred from being paid caregivers. They argued the bills would recognize existing unpaid care, help families remain at home, and reduce reliance on more expensive institutional care. Advocates for adult ABA coverage said services remain medically necessary after age 21 and that ending coverage at that age creates an inequitable “cliff” for MassHealth members compared with those with private insurance. For the PACE/community care bill, elder law attorneys and PACE advocates said current MassHealth income rules force some older adults with modestly higher incomes to spend down to $542 per month, making community living unrealistic and pushing people toward nursing homes. They supported changing the eligibility structure to a premium-based approach that would allow more people to remain in the community. On the school Medicaid bill, advocates said schools are providing effective, preventive mental health care, but reimbursement currently flows to municipalities rather than directly back to school health budgets, limiting districts’ ability to hire and retain staff. No votes were taken during the hearing; the committee heard testimony and several witnesses requested favorable reports on the bills.

Transcript Highlights:

• A doula is there alongside a pregnant woman's doctor, nurses, and other healthcare professionals to help
• Uh, informational, educational, emotional, physical, and advocacy support for people who are experiencing
• It gives me the information and education and experience to slow down decision making and make sure that
• Maybe let's bring in a nurse or doctor, and you can raise that concern.
• Train healthcare professionals on patient outreach and education initiatives.

Committee: House S/C on Disease Prevention & Women's & Children's Health

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> master's degree in education master's degree in education Administration<00:03:49.560><c> and</c
• So they have to get an education.
• So they have to get an education.
• education education and<00:20:00.600><c> I</c><00:20:00.799><c> I</c><00:20:00.919><c> get</c><00:20
• I'm not a nurse practitioner.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• So you're like telling the nurse, get me out of here by five, you know, so that I can basically... ..
• And the nurse was great.
• And the nurse was great.
• Optometrists today have the education, training, and oversight for safely performing... Thank you.
• Optometrists today have the education training and oversight for safely performing. Thank you.

Bills: HB99 , HJR5 , HM39 , HB206 , HB213 , SB41 , SB153 , SB165 , SB261 , SB264

Committee: House House Judiciary

Keywords: medical malpractice, malpractice reform, patient's compensation fund, PCF, health care liability, tort reform, damage caps, punitive damages, hospital liability, physician liability, nurse practitioner, certified nurse-midwife, outpatient facility, ambulatory surgical center, urgent care, free-standing emergency room, insurance surcharge, superintendent of insurance, New Mexico hospitals, medical review process

Summary: The committee first took up House Bill 99, a medical malpractice reform measure. Sponsor Chair Chandler and Minority Leader Armstrong described months of stakeholder negotiations aimed at balancing patient compensation with concerns from physicians, hospitals, and insurers about litigation costs, punitive damages, and access to care. The committee substitute kept the existing monetary damage caps but changed several provisions, including definitions of “occurrence” and “value of medical care,” treatment of future medical expenses, a higher clear-and-convincing standard for punitive damages, a two-step process before punitive damages can be pled, and a lower punitive-damages cap for smaller providers versus a higher cap for large hospital systems. Supporters said the bill would help recruit and retain doctors and stabilize the malpractice market; opponents argued it weakens accountability, especially for corporate and out-of-state hospital systems, and several speakers urged a stronger amendment to preserve patient rights. After debate, the committee voted 10-0 to give the House Judiciary Committee substitute for HB 99 a do-pass recommendation. The committee then heard House Joint Resolution 5, which would amend the state constitution to allow legislative compensation. Sponsors and supporters said paying legislators would make service more accessible to working people, parents, rural residents, and others without independent wealth, and would broaden representation. Several advocacy groups and individual commenters backed the proposal, while members raised questions about the pay formula, with the resolution tying compensation to the state median income. Some members supported the idea but preferred a salary commission or a different mechanism. The committee approved HJR 5 on a 7-3 vote. Finally, the committee began hearing House Memorial 39, which calls for a task force to study the current state of sexual assault examination kits and report on backlog progress. Sponsor Rep. Ferrari and the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs explained that a prior task force a decade ago found more than 5,000 untested kits and led to policy changes, including the Sexual Assault Survivors Bill of Rights and a statewide tracking system. The memorial is intended to reassess whether backlogs remain and recommend further fixes.

Transcript Highlights:

• This program is designed to expand access to high-quality nursing education while preparing graduates
• education facility.
• I commend Whitworth University for launching its new nursing program, a launching its new nursing program
• out of the Department of Education.
• But it's about educating. And again, the But it's about educating.

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• These are nurses from organizations across Arizona, including Southwest Human Development, Easterseals
• These nurses understand that we get the... Blake Foundation and Casa de los Niños.
• These nurses understand that we get the best outcomes for our kids when we begin before they are born
• Nurse-Family Partnership is a voluntary evidence-based program that pairs registered nurses with low-income
• These nurses provide trusted guidance on child development and long-term family stability during one

Summary: The House convened on Ash Wednesday with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, the journal approved, and a series of guest introductions recognizing Dr. William Thompson, Disability Day at the Capitol participants, Arizona Cattle Growers, a GCU student guest, striking ASU Aramark workers and union supporters, Nurse-Family Partnership nurses, Navajo Nation visitors, and others. Members also made remarks honoring Lent, Ramadan, Black History Month, and various community figures. Attendance was recorded at 54 present, 3 absent, and 3 excused, and the House received committee substitutions and Senate messages without objection. The chamber adopted House Resolution 2006, a death resolution honoring Yvonne Glee Lyme Federson and her work with Childhelp to combat child abuse. The resolution was adopted unanimously, followed by a moment of respectful silence. The House then resolved into Committee of the Whole and later an additional Committee of the Whole to consider several bills. Measures receiving do pass recommendations included HB 2089, HB 2177 as amended, HB 2258, HB 2322 as amended, HB 2786, and HB 2825 as amended, with amendments adopted on HB 2177, HB 2322, and HB 2825. The House adopted the Committee of the Whole report and ordered those bills engrossed or regrossed as appropriate. In the additional Committee of the Whole, members debated HB 2074, HB 2104, and HB 2105, all property- or health-related measures. HB 2074 drew sharp debate over an amendment removing a life-of-the-mother exception in a partial-birth abortion provision; supporters said the change clarified that safer medical alternatives exist, while opponents argued it would criminalize care even to save a mother’s life. HB 2104 and HB 2105 were amended to add taxable improvements as a trigger for assessor review and to make a standardized report optional, with supporters saying the changes improved county property tax administration and opponents warning they could hinder assessors and create litigation. All three bills received do pass as amended recommendations and were ordered engrossed. The House then took up third-reading votes and passed HB 2173, HB 2203, HB 2223, and HB 2501 by 57-0 votes with three not voting. HB 2307, an emergency measure concerning dangerous and incompetent defendants and out-of-state treatment options, passed 37-20 with three not voting, but failed to achieve the required two-thirds vote for the emergency clause. Members explained votes in support as a temporary response to a lack of in-state treatment beds, and in opposition as a bill that was too broad or not yet implementable. The House adjourned until 10 a.m. on Thursday, February 19, 2026.