Transcript Highlights:

• The 340B drug pricing program is a U.S. federal government program created in 1992 that requires drug
• The 340B drug pricing program is a U.S. federal government program created in 1992 that requires drug
• The 340B drug pricing program is a U.S. federal government program created in 1992 that requires drug
• This could have been prevented if we had known the truth about where he had come from.
• This could have been prevented if we had known the truth about where he had come from.

Bills: HF2543, HF2566, HF2627

Keywords: garnishment, wage garnishment, earnings levy, bank levy, execution, judgment debtor, judgment creditor, exemption notice, exempt property, bank account freeze, financial institution levy, employer disclosure, garnishee, writ of execution, debt collection, consumer debt, collections, bankruptcy exemptions, public benefits, means-tested benefits

Transcript Highlights:

• That would be our Yakima Nation Engineering Program. We have Mr.
• I'm the program manager or director of the Yakima Nation Engineering Program.
• I'm the assistant manager in the engineering program. Thank you.
• So they directed us, our engineering program, to work with WSDOT.
• evidence-based programs at the federal and state level.

Summary: The Senate Transportation Committee met in Yakima to focus on tribal traffic safety, with members and Yakima Nation leaders emphasizing the importance of safety, the right to travel, and continued partnership on U.S. 97 corridor improvements. Yakima Nation Vice Chair Christopher Wallachie and engineering staff described the Tribal Traffic Safety Committee, the U.S. 97 safety project, heritage connectivity trails, roundabout construction, and the use of federal grants and advanced sensing technology to identify hazards before crashes occur. They highlighted collaboration with WSDOT, the Traffic Safety Commission, the University of Washington, and other regional partners, and explained that the goal is to move from reactive crash response to proactive risk reduction. The Yakima Nation engineering team and AI Vision presented the MUST sensor project, which uses compact AI-enabled devices to collect traffic counts, speeds, near-miss events, roadway conditions, and pedestrian activity, with data transmitted to a dashboard and used for real-time warnings and longer-term planning. Committee members asked about speed tracking, driver behavior, enforcement, and partnerships with WSDOT and counties. Yakima Nation staff said the relationship with WSDOT has improved over time, especially after community outreach on proposed roundabouts, and that the tribe now supports several roundabout projects and broader safety coordination. The Washington Traffic Safety Commission then presented statewide fatality trends and tribal traffic safety data. Mark McKekney said 2024 showed a roughly 10% decrease in fatalities statewide, though recent years remain among the highest in decades. He noted that race and ethnicity data are only available for people who die in crashes, and that many American Indian and Alaska Native fatalities involve passengers, pedestrians, or bicyclists rather than drivers. Penny Rerick outlined tribal traffic safety coordinator grants and other state-funded tribal projects, including work with Yakama Nation, Colville, Kalispel, Makah, Port Gamble S'Klallam, Muckleshoot, Lower Elwha, and Puyallup, stressing that flexible state funding helps fill gaps left by federal programs and supports community-led solutions. The final presentation covered impaired driving enforcement and ignition interlock compliance in Yakima County. Yakima Police Chief Sean Boyle said the city created a DUI enforcement and education officer program that helped reduce serious injury and fatal impaired-driving crashes, supported by state funding and social media outreach. Yakima County District Court’s Nick Bazan described a supervision program for DUI offenders and interlock compliance, reporting more than 1,000 DUI convictions in 2024-25 and about 3,800 noncompliant interlock users countywide. He said the court is using a two-pronged approach—pretrial assistance for indigent clients and post-conviction accountability and case planning—to improve compliance and reduce impaired driving. The committee expressed support for the work, noted the progress made, and adjourned the work session after thanking presenters for their updates.

Transcript Highlights:

• program.
• program.
• program.
• program.
• Uh, it it is part of prevention program.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• For this particular program.
• before, we have a total of 8 programs.
• So a lot of this is based on prevention programs, but it goes hand in hand with our treatment programs
• For this particular program, we do not have a waitlist for some of our other programs, as I mentioned
• I is, are any of the programs, and I know you're just talking about a few of them, are any of your programs

Transcript Highlights:

• And, as I said earlier, we can prevent most of this, and injury prevention and focusing on that is the
• And, as I said earlier, we can prevent most of this, and injury prevention and focusing on that is the
• <00:39:36.400> as hospitals includes injury prevention as hospitals includes injury prevention
• Uh this bill was is being programs.
• programs. So, that's pretty important. programs. So, that's pretty important.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Members, we also created a brand new program, an LFPA program, which is a duplicate of a federal program
• prevention for the avian flu.
• prevention for the avian flu.
• prevention for the avian flu.
• missing and endangered persons program. missing and endangered persons program.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Senate Bill 1072 establishes the expedited DNA testing grant program within FDLE.
• He then drove toward the line. crew attempted to prevent the man from leaving.
• Ultimately, this bill is about preventing tragedies.
• I surrendered my addiction to the program of recovery. I know that this program works.
• And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Summary: The Senate convened with an opening prayer by Rabbi Moshe Umatz, the Pledge of Allegiance led by pages, and several introductions and recognitions, including guests from Miami Northwestern Senior High School, Clay County, and a moment of silence for Pope Francis. The chamber then moved to the special order calendar after a motion to reconsider SB 1080, which was temporarily postponed. Several bills were also set aside during the day, including measures on social media use by minors, veterans’ nursing homes, Parkinson’s disease, mental health and substance use disorders, education, educator preparation, and school social workers. The Senate passed a series of bills, often substituting House companions for Senate bills. These included funding for expedited DNA testing grants for local law enforcement (SB 1072/HB 847), additional aggravating factors in capital cases involving religious, school, or government gatherings (SB 984/HB 693), fertility preservation coverage for cancer patients (SB 924/HB 677), commuter rail indemnification for Miami-Dade and Broward counties (SB 916/HB 867), restrictions on disposing of migrant vessels in Florida waters (SB 830), specialty license plates including Miami Northwestern and several colleges and institutions (SB 824), an Alzheimer’s and dementia awareness campaign (SB 398), relocation of the Council on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys to Florida Memorial University (SB 364), charter school changes allowing parent conversion and municipal job-engine charter schools (SB 140), sex offender registration reporting changes (SB 1654/HB 1351), penalties for assaulting utility workers (SB 1386), juvenile justice revisions and truancy process updates (SB 1344), reporting of student mental health outcomes (SB 1310/HB 969), foster home license transfer simplification (SB 1174/HB 989), water access facility funding and boating industry incentives (SB 1162/HB 735), Florida Virtual School operational changes (SB 1122), school readiness program support for children with disabilities (SB 1102), sexual image offenses involving minors (SB 1180/HB 757), age-related defenses in child sex offense cases (SB 1136/HB 777), tampering with electronic monitoring devices (SB 1054/HB 437), certified recovery residences and local zoning accommodations (SB 954), and the FSU Election Law Center (SB 892). Most of these bills passed with strong bipartisan support, though SB 984 and SB 140 drew some opposition. One of the most extensive debates centered on SB 820, codifying the Office of Faith and Community. Senator Polsky offered an amendment to bar political activity by office staff, citing emails and campaign-related communications tied to Amendment 4; the amendment failed on a 13-23 vote. Senators then debated the bill’s relationship to state election law, free speech, and the role of faith-based outreach. Supporters emphasized the office’s service network and reported benefits to children and families, while some senators raised concerns about interfaith representation and political use of government resources. The bill was then read a third time and the Senate proceeded toward a final vote as the transcript ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• HB 20 by DARB relating to the certain measures to prevent and reduce fraudulent charitable solicitations
• HB 66 by DARB relating to the creation of a disaster relief fund and prevention matching grant and loan
• programs, and the disaster relief and prevention account for the Committee on Disaster Preparedness
• To the emergency Response Planning and Emergency preparedness of youth camps and campus programs for
• Relating to the Texas flood recovery reimbursement and reconstruction program authorizing civil penalty

Transcript Highlights:

• , which includes 125 million for the acquisition and planting of trees. 69 million for a feeding programs
• , including 50 million dollars for a new grant program to create or expand food.
• . 75 million for the agriculture and aquaculture natural disaster loan program and 119 million dollars
• Although Brownsville program has been successful, there are some updating that needs to be done.
• and the Silk Coat Culture Disaster Recovery Grant program.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm honored to present this bill that refines the practice of podiatric medicine by preventing them to
• We will join our regularly scheduled programming shortly.
• Think about how many tragedies have been prevented by that law.
• as well as nursing education programs.
• The bill makes this program permanent with a statewide program and expansion into more diverse areas.

Summary: The Senate convened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, several introductions, and an announcement that there would be no conference that weekend. The chamber then took up a long special order calendar and passed a series of bills, often by substituting House companions. Early measures included trust law modernization to create a nonjudicial trustee discharge process, military affairs changes expanding leave and retirement-related provisions, a bill to prepare for the end of penny use by standardizing cash rounding, and a podiatric medicine bill regulating cellular or tissue-based products and informed consent. The Senate also approved veterans court expansion, RV park assessment clarification, alcohol-loss tax deduction authority, bail bond and pretrial release revisions, and a military-installation jurisdiction bill to allow juvenile cases on bases to be handled in state juvenile court under certain conditions. Most bills passed unanimously or near-unanimously, with the bail bond bill passing 36-1 after questions about charitable bail bonds and confirmation that existing law on return of charitable bail funds would remain unchanged. The chamber then paused for a lengthy farewell presentation honoring Senator Lori Berman, featuring a video, remarks from many senators, and Berman’s own closing speech reflecting on her 16 years of service, her legislative priorities, and her call for civility, bipartisanship, and continued support for issues such as school safety, Israel, anti-Semitism, and affordability. After the tribute, the Senate resumed and passed additional bills, including one expanding insurance coverage definitions for portable electronics and eyewear, a workforce and nursing education funding bill broadening support for health science programs, a recovery residences regulatory streamlining bill, a felony battery enhancement bill adding resisting an officer with violence as a qualifying prior offense, and a child welfare bill extending visitor thresholds in out-of-home placements, making the Step Into Success program permanent, and creating a best-practices program. The chamber also advanced a candidate qualification bill tightening party-affiliation requirements and adding a House provision on recent legal name changes; debate began on that measure as the transcript ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• , and multicultural family programming.
• Beyond leadership development, the program emphasizes community engagement.
• or the juvenile justice DAP program.
• DAP program to the extent practical for a virtual setting.
• This will equate to about 40 additional... high school students enrolled in the FAST program.

Keywords: legislation, Senate Joint Resolution 40, Senate Bill 871, constitutional amendment, emergency powers, governor authority, legislative oversight

Summary: The meeting focused on several crucial pieces of legislation, notably Senate Joint Resolution 40, which proposed a constitutional amendment to clarify the powers of the governor, the legislature, and the Supreme Court during emergencies. Senator Birdwell presented the resolution, emphasizing the need for legislative involvement during prolonged crises. It garnered broad support, passing with 29 votes in favor and only 1 against. Following this, Senate Bill 871, considered the enabling legislation, was also moved for discussion, with the aim of reinforcing the legislature's authority during emergencies while establishing clear guidelines for the governor's powers.

Transcript Highlights:

• , and they must include program evaluation to demonstrate effectiveness so that more programs can be
• and they must include a pilot program and they must include program<00:03:20.360> evaluation<
• These all relate to the post-secondary enrollment options program, or PSO program.
• ><00:18:37.720> section<00:18:38.080> nine program or PSO program um section nine program
• This continued partnership is critical to upholding program integrity and preventing fraud.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• that we're looking at trying to prevent that we're looking at trying to prevent is<00:15:29.680>
• <00:17:41.600> uh federal uh there are federal programs uh federal uh there are federal programs
• Obviously, we're talking about federal highway and interstate programs here.
• Did you look at parking programs here.
• prevent that. prevent that. >> Thank<00:38:03.599> you.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Interim Joint Committee on Transportation approved the minutes from its September 16 meeting and then heard a presentation from Jason Sawala, deputy state highway engineer with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, on rest areas and truck parking. He described Kentucky’s system of eight welcome centers, 14 rest areas, and four truck havens, and said the Cabinet spent just over $12 million in fiscal year 2025 to operate and maintain those facilities. He also explained that the Cabinet’s truck parking study found truck parking demand has increased 24% since 2012, driven by just-in-time delivery, stricter hours-of-service and electronic logging requirements, and fewer drivers. Sawala said the study looked not only at Cabinet-owned facilities but also private truck stops and lots, and identified unmet parking demand across the state, especially at 1:00 a.m. He noted that 11 sites, mostly existing rest areas, weigh stations, or welcome centers, were identified as promising expansion locations, with estimated project costs in the $30 million to $36 million range in 2022 dollars. He said the Cabinet is working on design and project development for those sites and is seeking federal funding opportunities where available. Members raised concerns about safety, congestion, and trucks parking on ramps or in residential areas, and several asked about funding, charging for parking, and whether autonomous vehicles might reduce future demand. Sawala said the 820 public rest-area spaces are marked spaces only, that he was not aware of any state charging for public truck parking, and that federal programs can help fund some expansions. He also said he was not aware of local-government parking programs offhand but would look into it. Members generally emphasized the importance of truck parking for safety, commerce, and avoiding burdens on local communities.

Transcript Highlights:

• The funds were used for various programs, one of which was a respite care program that provided direct
• There's also a program, the New Mexico Health Service Corps, which is a stipend program.
• on board with the J-1 visa program.
• program.
• They've adapted well with the forest programs and the allied health programs.

Transcript Highlights:

• We're adding mental health training to veteran suicide prevention officers through their pilot program
• We're adding mental health training to veteran suicide prevention officers through their pilot program
• And say, in particular, thank you for including the adult day care program.
• It encourages green infrastructure projects through the Resilient Florida grant program.
• basically green infrastructure projects through the resilient Florida grant program.

Summary: The Senate Committee on Rules met with a quorum present and took up a series of bills, beginning with SB 108 on administrative procedures. That bill, as amended, would require agencies to review all rules on a five-year cycle, submit regulatory plans and annual reports, publish intended agency action within 90 days of new rulemaking authority, improve public access to incorporated materials, and streamline rule publication and correction procedures. After brief testimony from the Florida Bar’s Administrative Law Section and support from Americans for Prosperity and the James Madison Institute, the committee adopted two amendments and reported CS for SB 108 favorably. The committee then approved several other measures, including the Senate veterans package (CS for CS for SB 116), which made technical changes and was supported by veterans and advocacy groups; SB 118 on presidential libraries, which preempts local barriers while preserving state and federal law and building codes; CS for SB 126 allowing mail distribution of prescription hearing aids after a Florida-licensed professional examination; CS for SB 150, “Trooper’s Law,” making it a third-degree felony to abandon restrained animals during declared disasters; SB 294 limiting collaborative pharmacy practice expansion for complex cardiac conditions; SM 314 urging Congress to increase Florida National Guard force structure; CS for SB 322 creating a nonjudicial process to remove unauthorized persons from commercial property; CS for SB 348 on ethics, addressing false military rank claims and delinquent ethics fines; SB 356 designating January 27 as Holocaust Remembrance Day; CS for SB 160 expanding CPA licensure pathways and clarifying administrative outsourcing; and CS for SB 50 promoting nature-based coastal resilience measures. Most of these bills received supportive testimony and were reported favorably. The committee also considered and reported favorably the annual reviser bills SB 36, SB 38, SB 40, and SB 42, which adopt the 2025 Florida Statutes, conform statutory names, remove expired provisions, and clean up obsolete language and cross-references. Throughout the meeting, members asked questions on a few bills, but no roll-call votes were recorded as opposed; each measure was approved and reported favorably. At the end of the meeting, senators requested that a few missed affirmative votes be recorded, and the committee adjourned without objection.

Transcript Highlights:

• $20.5 million program.
• , El Paso's $900,000 program, and Harris County's $20.5 million program.
• program.
• This program is oversubscribed.
• They have now taken five of my apartments into the tax program, the affordable housing program.

Bills: SB434, SB844, SB898, SB1177, SB1214, SB1454, SB1920, SB1927, SB1935, SB1965, SB2010, SB2046, SB2068, SB2073, SB2183, SB2260, SB3034, SB907

Keywords: SB 434, Harris County Hospital District, hospital district police, peace officers, commissioned officers, law enforcement authority, Health and Safety Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, public safety, hospital security, county hospital district, local government, Texas criminal procedure, district police, armed security, SB 898, low income housing tax credits, LIHTC, affordable housing, Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs

Summary: The committee heard several bills dealing with local government authority, homeowners associations, hospital district policing, school AED inspections, special district annexation, public contracting penalties, and guaranteed income programs. Senate Bill 2073 by Sen. Zaffirini would clarify that appraisal districts may finance purchases, leases, or construction of real property for appraisal offices without prior approval from taxing units; it was supported by the Texas Association of Appraisal Districts and left pending. Senate Bill 1935 by Sen. Hinojosa would increase homeowner control of property owners association boards, require more transparency, limit fines and assessment increases, and require accessible meeting locations; HOA and builder representatives opposed it, arguing it would hinder maintenance and make dues harder to manage, and the bill was left pending. Senate Bill 434 by Sen. Miles would authorize Harris County Hospital District police officers, was supported by Harris Health, and was left pending. Senate Bill 1177 by Sen. Alvarado, as substituted, would require school AED inspections during fire inspections and reporting to school leadership; it was left pending. Senate Bill 1214 by Sen. Perry would update Concho County Hospital District law to align with current procurement and notice rules; it was left pending. Senate Bill 1965 by Sen. Middleton, for Sen. King, would tighten notice and proximity rules for special district annexations; district witnesses warned the bill could interfere with service to noncontiguous tracts, and the bill was left pending. The committee also took up Senate Bill 2046 by Sen. Bettencourt, which would increase criminal penalties for county purchasing act violations involving unauthorized separate or sequential purchases to evade competitive bidding, and create a tiered penalty structure based on contract amount. Former Harris County DA Kim Ogg, Deputy Attorney General Josh Reno, and James Quintero supported the bill, citing recent Harris County bid-rigging cases and arguing the current Class C misdemeanor penalty is too weak to deter misconduct; some members questioned whether the proposed thresholds were too low and whether stronger oversight, rather than higher penalties alone, would be more effective. The bill was left pending. Finally, Senate Bill 2010 by Sen. Bettencourt would bar counties and other political subdivisions from operating guaranteed income programs and address constitutional gift-clause concerns. Testimony split sharply: Ogg and Quintero argued such programs are unconstitutional, can be used for political data collection, and should not be funded with public money, while Paige Terry Barry defended the bill as protecting taxpayers and discouraging dependency. Senators also debated whether the state can restrict use of federal grant funds and whether local governments should be allowed to run such programs; the bill was left pending.

Transcript Highlights:

• This name and Innovation Hub program.
• Third, it program transparency.
• This statutory program has been effective in preventing double dipping of benefits, and it sets a standard
• prog program that this legislative body prog program that this legislative body set<00:37:25.920>
• participate in this rehiring program. participate in this rehiring program.

Keywords: Convene 00:00:00 Senate Message 00:04:53 Calendar/2nd Readings 00:05:27 Report of Committees 00:06:16 Orders of the Day 00:08:42 SB 172 00:08:54 HB 392 00:11:47 HB 529 00:16:02 HB 456 00:22:04 HB 424 00:25:27 HJR 50 00:30:04 HB 577 00:32:29 HB 213 00:36:10 HB 58 00:40:22 HB 10 00:45:23 Motions, Petitions, and Communications 01:04:32 Introduction of New Bills and Resolutions 01:17:33 Recess for ConC/Rules Meeting 01:20:15 ConC/Rules Report 01:25:00 Floor Amendments 01:26:56 Adjournment 01:27:21, 958, all

Summary: The House convened with an invocation and Pledge of Allegiance, established a quorum of 96 members, excused absent members, and approved the prior journal. The chamber also received Senate messages transmitting Senate Bills 969 and 141. Several bills were reported from committee and placed on the calendar, including measures on on-farm animal health, insurance regulation, crimes and punishments, employment, artificial intelligence, utility fuel adjustments, education, and addictive online platforms. The House then took up and passed Senate Bill 172, which allows the Public Service Commission to spread sudden fuel cost spikes over several months to reduce consumer bill shock. It passed 95-0. House Bill 392, dealing with local public agency transactions and procurement, was amended by committee substitute to remove disputed best-value procurement and residential bidder preference provisions, lower the small purchase threshold increase to $50,000, and add indexing and other local purchasing changes; it passed 97-0. House Bill 529, concerning the parole board, was amended to stagger board terms, allow limited term extensions, authorize panel hearings, and adjust parole review timing; it passed 99-0. House Bill 456, relating to unclaimed property and the state treasurer, was passed 100-0 after adding an unclaimed property awareness week, removing a residency requirement for the treasurer, clarifying mineral royalty reporting, and tightening reporting requirements. The House also passed House Bill 424 on social work licensure, which exempts student interns and trainees, sets supervision standards, updates licensure rules including multi-state licensure, background checks, and telehealth, and requires board representation from social work education; it passed 94-0. House Joint Resolution 50, directing a study of child care regulations and processes by the Auditor of Public Accounts, was adopted 98-0. House Bill 577, modernizing economic development statutes by renaming and updating innovation programs, expanding the Kentucky Enterprise Fund, allowing certain out-of-state companies to qualify if they relocate within 180 days, and broadening angel investor participation, passed 98-0. House Bill 213, reducing the service requirement for rehiring retired police officers from 20 to 15 years and allowing local employers to offer health benefits, passed 98-0. House Bill 58, on privacy protection and automated license plate reader data, was taken up with a committee substitute and floor amendment allowing limited data retention and training use under redactions; the transcript cuts off during explanation of the bill after the amendment was adopted.

Transcript Highlights:

• this program, annual or biennial? this program, annual or biennial?
• , to extend this program.
• programs like Medicaid. programs like Medicaid.
• > students<00:58:09.359> and With this program, college students and With this program,
• to right-size the program. to right-size the program.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Currently, the IHSS program employs over 700,000 providers and serves over 800,000 recipients.
• Counties are committed to strengthening this program as well and have invested more than $100 million
• Counties are committed to strengthening this program as well and have invested more than $100 million
• This balanced approach respects management's authority while preventing the circumvention of existing
• around this program.

Summary: The Assembly Committee on Public Employment and Retirement met for its first hearing of the session, adopted committee rules, and heard several labor-related bills. The chair reviewed hearing procedures, including limits on testimony and expectations for orderly conduct. Members then took up measures affecting public employee bargaining, contracting, confidentiality, school employee benefits, pay stub information, and state correctional health staffing. AB 672 would require public employers to notify PERB when filing court actions involving statutes PERB administers and allow PERB to intervene; it drew support from SEIU, AFSCME, school employees, labor groups, and no opposition, and was passed out of committee. AB 283 would move IHSS bargaining from the county to the state level; providers and recipients testified about low wages, long delays in bargaining, and care access concerns, while counties and public authorities raised cost, scope, and implementation issues. The bill passed 7-0 after members discussed family care worker concerns and the author said he would continue working on the issue. AB 339 would require local governments to give unions 120 days’ notice before contracting out bargaining-unit work. Labor supporters said the bill would make existing meet-and-confer rights meaningful and protect jobs, while counties, cities, special districts, chambers of commerce, and staffing groups argued it would burden local agencies and interfere with existing MMBA procedures. The committee also heard AB 340, which would make communications between employees and union representatives confidential for PERB purposes; supporters said it codified existing case law, while school administrators, special districts, counties, and business groups warned it could hinder investigations. AB 378 would extend the classified school employees summer assistance program to JPA employees, and AB 374 would require more detailed pay stubs for classified school employees; both had labor support and some education-sector opposition over implementation and cost concerns, and both advanced. AB 393 would require cost analyses before contracting out physician work at CDCR and the Department of State Hospitals; supporters argued the state was overpaying contractors amid high vacancy rates, and the bill also advanced. At the end of the hearing, the committee recorded final votes showing AB 283, AB 340, AB 374, AB 378, AB 393, and AB 672 all passing out of committee, while AB 339 remained on hold with a 4-0 vote and some members not voting.

Transcript Highlights:

• within institutions that will prevent these types of occurrences from happening in the future.
• Extended foster care is a specialized program.
• It's a voluntary program, and the focus is not on protection.
• that focus on rehabilitation and preventing future involvement in the justice system.
• that focus on rehabilitation and preventing future involvement in the justice system.

Summary: The Assembly Judiciary Committee heard three bills. AB 250 by Majority Leader Aguiar-Curry would extend a limited window for survivors of sexual assault to seek civil recourse against perpetrators and entities that allegedly covered up abuse. The author and supporters, including survivor Maya Alexander and Equal Rights Advocates, said many survivors need years before they can come forward and that the bill would improve accountability and public safety. One member raised concerns about the bill’s application to private employers and the exclusion of public employees, but the bill was advanced on a motion to Appropriations and later placed on call until additional votes were added. AB 373 by Assemblymember Rubio would require appointed counsel for non-minor dependents in extended foster care to represent the young adult’s expressed wishes rather than substitute the attorney’s judgment. Supporters from California Youth Connection and the Children’s Law Center said 18- to 21-year-olds in foster care are legal adults and should have their voices fully respected in court. Members discussed how the bill would work in practice and whether it applied only to appointed counsel; the bill was moved to Human Services and later cleared after additional votes were added. AB 387 by Assemblymember Alanis, as amended, would exempt probation officers from criminal jury service. The author and supporters argued probation officers are deeply involved in the criminal justice process, often get dismissed anyway, and should be focused on supervision and court-related duties rather than jury duty. The Judicial Council opposed the bill, warning that categorical exemptions shrink the jury pool and set a bad precedent. After debate over fairness, precedent, and the role of probation officers, the committee voted the bill out on a do pass motion.