Transcript Highlights:

• As it stands, um, want to hop on board.
• So if I board of education meetings.
• </c><02:13:59.360><c> doing</c><02:13:59.679><c> your</c> you like at home doing your you like at home
• It had state standard, a national goal.
• </c> receive EFAs, many of them on their home receive EFAs, many of them on their home websites,<03:03

Committee: Senate Education

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The here in our home state of Kentucky.
• Kentucky's nurses advocate for their patients, strengthen our communities, and uphold the highest standards
• As a nurse myself, I know compassion.
• Kucky's nurses extraordinary pressure.
• </c><01:10:47.440><c> for</c> recognize and thank Kucky's nurses for recognize and thank Kucky's nurses

Keywords: Convene 00:00:00 Calendar/2nd Readings 00:05:55 Report of Committees 00:07:26 Orders of the Day/HB 419 00:09:02 HB 103 00:12:30 HB 276 00:37:54 HB 188 00:43:39 HB 189 00:47:11 HB 258 00:53:52 Motions, Petitions, and Communications 00:58:16 Introduction of New Bills and Resolutions 01:11:11 Recess for ConC/Rules Meeting 01:13:29 ConC/Rules Report 01:17:06 Adjournment 01:18:20, 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• for having a child or welcoming one into their home.
• We are in the process of hiring nurses, and so we're hiring a nurse for the Covington region currently
• the nurses that would be tri-regional.
• We have myself, we have a nurse practitioner, and we have a nurse that are on our team.
• So that would be near the standard that you mentioned earlier, 12 and 15. It's above standard.

Committee: House Appropriations

Summary: The House Appropriations Committee met on May 26, 2026, and first took up Senate Bill 433, which would provide Medicaid coverage for certain weight-loss medications. After adopting a House amendment adding customary subject-to-appropriation language, the committee heard from LDH Secretary Bruce Greenstein, who said the state currently spends about $240 million a year on GLP-1 drugs for Medicaid patients with obesity and certain other conditions, and that the bill would let the department expand coverage gradually while controlling costs and negotiating better pricing. Members spoke in strong support, and SB 433 was reported favorable as amended. The committee then considered Senate Bill 157, which creates paid parental leave for eligible public K-12 educators and staff. An amendment was adopted to adjust fund language and make the bill proper for Appropriations. Senator Jenkins and supporters, including the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, described the bill as providing six weeks of paid leave for birth, adoption, fostering, and related family-building events, while members discussed whether medical leave should also be included and confirmed the leave applies to fathers as well. The bill drew broad support and was reported favorable as amended. Senate Bill 250, requiring the Office of Group Benefits to offer a comprehensive weight management plan with employees paying the full premium and medication costs, was briefly discussed and reported favorable without objection. The committee then spent considerable time on Senate Bill 237, a child welfare measure from Senator Barrow that would expand notification, access, and investigative procedures for the Child Ombudsman and DCFS, including child-on-child sexual abuse cases and multidisciplinary fatality reviews. Members and agency officials debated the fiscal note, with estimates ranging from about $525,000 to $3.2 million and disagreement over whether some costs were already covered or could be absorbed; after a roll call, the bill passed 10-9 and was reported favorable as amended. Finally, the committee began Senate Bill 155, which requires insurance coverage for medically necessary dental care tied to cancer treatment. Senator Talbot and medical and cancer advocacy witnesses said the bill would remove a barrier to timely chemotherapy or radiation and could prevent more expensive complications later. Members expressed support and discussed a relatively small fiscal note, but the transcript cuts off before final action on the bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• Today, my neighborhood is filled with boarded-up businesses, burned homes, and abandoned properties.
• It may be difficult to create a standard across the board that will work throughout Texas.
• It may be difficult to create a standard across the board that will work throughout Texas.
• If there was the equivalent of, like, a nursing home is the wrong word, but you've got jail, which is
• Is that a standard? Because if it is, well, is it a standard?

Committee: Senate Health & Human Services

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Rising costs of living, housing instability, workforce disruptions... ...recent history.
• , whether a hospital, a nursing facility, or even incarceration.
• Jacqueline Flores with California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, in strong support. and your position
• Jacqueline Flores with Kenner, California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform in strong support.
• Kenner, California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, in strong support. Thank you.

Committee: Senate Human Services

Summary: The Senate Human Services Committee heard several bills focused on developmental disabilities, food security, veterans, aging services, child care, and elder abuse reporting. SB 969 by Senator Reyes would make remote services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities a permanent option; supporters said virtual programming improves access, continuity, and choice, and there was no opposition. SB 1025 by Senator Hurtado would create an Office of Food Security and Affordability to coordinate state food programs, improve CalFresh enrollment, and develop a 24-hour hotline; committee members raised questions about duplication, metrics, and oversight, but the bill advanced after discussion. SB 1052 by Senator Gonzalez would allow the State Council on Developmental Disabilities to appoint contingent authorized representatives so people with disabilities are not left without support if a family member becomes unavailable; supporters described immigration enforcement, illness, and family separation as reasons for the bill, and members discussed administrative burden and renewal procedures before the bill passed. SB 1077 by Senator Gonzalez would require CDSS to prepare for future federal shutdowns by creating a communications and contingency plan for CalFresh disruptions and a state-backed emergency food assistance mechanism; members discussed how it would work with existing CalFresh administration, and the bill passed. SB 1201 by Senator McNerney would seek federal waivers to protect vulnerable veterans from new SNAP work requirements and require referrals to county veterans service officers; supporters said the federal cuts would harm homeless, newly discharged, and disabled veterans, and the bill passed. SB 1261 by Senator Laird would let aging and disability resource centers continue operating through partner transitions so services would not be interrupted; supporters emphasized continuity of care and the bill passed. SB 1110 by Senator Becker would revise child care subsidy funding and stabilization rules for alternative payment programs and community providers; supporters said the current reimbursement structure is outdated, and the bill passed after the author said a budget-related provision would be removed. The committee also later voted SB 969, SB 1052, SB 1077, SB 1201, SB 1261, and SB 1110 out of committee, with the bills kept on call for absent members, and began hearing SB 991 on elder abuse reporting, where supporters argued that licensing records should distinguish abuse from lesser resident-rights violations so families and policymakers can better understand facility conduct.

Transcript Highlights:

• And so, you know, I have a perspective on this from a nurse, as a nurse and as a nurse who's not working
• as a nurse, as a matter of fact.
• Would you consider this successful if you got 50 more nurses or 100 more nurses?
• behalf of the Nursing Association and the Nurse Practitioner Council.
• behalf of the Nursing Association and the Nurse Practitioner Council.

Committee: House House Health & Human Services

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It's home of the Texas Motor Speedway.
• We had homes that were flooded.
• Standard commercial outlet that is requesting this.
• development boards, to Economic Development.
• development boards to economic development.

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum, heard an invocation, and adopted the previous day’s journal. Members then adopted Senate Resolution 358 honoring the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on its 10th anniversary, with remarks highlighting UTRGV’s growth, degree production, research expansion, medical school, and role in serving the Rio Grande Valley and South Texas. The chamber also recognized the doctor of the day and adopted additional resolutions, including one for Denton County Days at the Capitol and another recognizing Texas HBCU Day. The Senate gave extensive recognition to outgoing Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp through Senate Resolution 368. Senators from both parties praised his long public career, leadership of the A&M System, support for regional universities, and bipartisan approach. The resolution was adopted after multiple members added their names. The chamber also heard from advocates with the Texas Streets Coalition, and received gubernatorial nominations for the State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors and the Texas Commission on Fire Protection. On legislation, the Senate passed several major bills. Committee Substitute Senate Bill 27, relating to rights and support for public school educators, was debated and amended to address teacher vacancies, bilingual certification testing, paid leave options, classroom removals, and appeal rights, then passed unanimously. Senate Joint Resolution 12, proposing a constitutional amendment on parents’ right to direct a child’s education, advanced on a 22-9 vote. Committee Substitute Senate Bill 1741, aimed at preventing foreign influence and intellectual property theft at public institutions of higher education, passed unanimously. Committee Substitute Senate Bill 29, the business entities bill, also passed after debate over corporate governance and shareholder protections. Senate Bill 857, authorizing law enforcement to tow certain vehicles driven by unlicensed or uninsured drivers, passed despite some concern about towing abuses during disasters. The Senate also took up Committee Substitute Senate Bill 1536 on dementia and Alzheimer’s training for certain guardians, but the transcript ends as that bill is being laid out.

Transcript Highlights:

• So the board has set a spending target of 15%.
• Now, we standardize our benefit designs.
• And the board has the ability to modify the spending targets.
• , and particularly looking at the low-wage workforce.
• My mother was a nurse, my sister's a nurse, so I'm steeped in health care information and have a great

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• H.R. 486 by Bella Montgomery concerning the Southern Regional Education Board.
• HB 4153 by Fairley relating to the ability to establish uniform grant and contract management standards
• for certain Texas Water Development Board programs, referred to the Committee on Natural Resources.
• HB 4241 by Hull, relating to possessing or processing and filling a vacancy of the Board of Trustees
• HB 4250 by Reynolds, relating to emergency generators or other power sources for nursing facilities,

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><04:23:52.720><c> home</c> have patients at our county nursing home have patients at our county nursing
• </c><04:26:01.920><c> many</c> the nursing home because I think many the nursing home because I think
• And so sometimes a nursing home bed.
• </c> atmosphere that a good nursing home has. atmosphere that a good nursing home has.
• Um, but that nursing home side, right?

Committee: House Health, Human Services & Elderly Affairs

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• governing board decides to establish this law school.
• students are prepared for the workforce.
• A workforce is how we keep them here.
• So we've got a robust workforce education program in Texas.
• Most of them had parents working at home.

Bills: HB232

Committee: House Higher Education

Keywords: disaster recovery, natural disaster, weather disaster, emergency relief, flood relief, hurricane relief, storm damage, wildfire, tornado, hail, windstorm, extreme heat, ice storm, snowstorm, property damage, personal injury, temporary housing, relocation assistance, lost wages, state emergency management

Transcript Highlights:

• Chairman, members, House Bill 2830 instructs the State Board of Education to adopt science academic standards
• It directs the State Board of Education in setting standards.
• We're concerned about requiring the State Board of Education to adopt standards requiring instruction
• House Bill 2830 provides statewide standards, places oversight with the State Board of Education, and
• What I learned is that the State Board of Education has standards, and everything we did with that curriculum

Committee: House Education

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• without the fear of requiring care at a more expensive nursing home.
• Board of Nursing, and currently I'm the CEO of Vitra Health.
• I'm a licensed registered nurse, a former executive director of the Massachusetts Board of Nursing, and
• I'm a licensed registered nurse, a former executive director of the Massachusetts Board of Nursing, and
• Given today's health care landscape and the shortage of our workforce for PAs, nurses, etc., this bill

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Revenue

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Revenue held a public hearing focused largely on tax-credit proposals tied to children, families, caregivers, child care, health care workforce development, and public health. A major portion of the hearing concerned bills to expand the state earned income tax credit and child and family tax credit, including H. 3073/S. 1957 and S. 1975. Testimony from advocacy groups, legal services, tax assistance organizations, and health providers supported increasing the EITC match from 40% to 50% of the federal credit, expanding eligibility to immigrant and mixed-status ITIN filers, larger families, younger and older workers, and SSI recipients, and raising the child and family tax credit to $600 per child with inflation adjustments and possible advance payments. Witnesses said these changes would reduce poverty, improve health and educational outcomes, and help families meet basic expenses; committee members asked questions about ITIN filers and expressed support for the policy goals. The committee also heard extensive testimony on S. 1938/H. 3159, An Act Supporting Family Caregivers. Speakers described the scale of unpaid caregiving in Massachusetts and supported a package that would create a refundable tax credit, respite vouchers, workplace and housing protections, unemployment insurance access for those who leave work to care for relatives, a permanent advisory council, and a provision allowing spouses to be paid caregivers under MassHealth. Several witnesses shared personal caregiving experiences, and committee members responded favorably, noting the emotional and financial strain on caregivers and the importance of supporting them as Medicaid and long-term care systems face pressure. Additional bills discussed included H. 3174 on a child and dependent care tax credit, which was presented as a way to offset the high cost of child care; H. 3197/S. 2019 to improve the financial security of family child care providers through a tax credit; H. 3218/S. 1960 to create tax credits for health care preceptors to address workforce shortages; S. 2064 to establish a living organ donor tax credit; S. 2034 to promote healthy alternatives to sugary drinks through a tiered tax; H. 3015 to create a tax-return checkoff for the YMCA Youth and Government Program; and several public testimony ideas including vaccination, literacy, and grade-improvement tax credits. No votes or formal committee actions were taken during the hearing, which ended after all testimony was heard.

Transcript Highlights:

• So we were able to, with your help last year, give a 10% across-the-board to the workforce...
• So we were able to, with your help last year, give a 10% across-the-board increase to the workforce that
• Which the majority of their workforce is here at the Capitol.
• We have 140 inmates in basically a nursing-home-type unit. We have a hospice unit.
• We have 140 inmates in basically a nursing-home-type unit.

Committee: House Appropriations

Keywords: 965, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Providing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing program aligns with student skills and nursing. workforce
• County workforce.
• meet the demand for nurses and the growing enrollment in our nursing program.
• We have a very fine, robust nursing program at every level, BSN, MSN, and... nurse practitioner level
• Texas A&M Health is home to five professional schools, dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and public

Committee: House Appropriations - S/C on Article III

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So how would that work in a school district or nurses in a hospital?
• Nurses have incredibly important jobs.
• Sanitation workers are covered, teachers, nurses, custodians, bus drivers.
• In the early 90s, I watched my mom, a registered nurse, gather with a band of her nurse friends and stand
• This bill takes away those freedoms as a nurse and as a teacher.

Bills: S0332 , S0464 , S0576 , S0830 , S0964 , S0984 , S1096 , S1296 , S1298 , S1612 , S1656

Committee: Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability

Keywords: public records, public meetings, property rights, transcripts, settlement negotiations, Veterans Day, K-12 schools, holiday observance, education, Florida statutes, cybersecurity, local government, grant program, data-sharing, Florida Digital Service, ransomware protection, county administrators, city managers, exemption, privacy

Summary: The committee first heard a committee substitute for SB 332, which creates a narrow public meetings and public records exemption for certain pre-suit settlement communications in Bert Harris claims involving local governments and private property rights. The sponsor said the change is intended to allow confidential legal strategy and negotiation during the 90-day pre-suit period while keeping settlements and outcomes public. The strike-all amendment was adopted, supportive testimony was waived in, and the bill was reported favorably. Members then approved several other measures, including SB 464 requiring K-12 schools to formally observe Veterans Day as a school holiday; SB 984 on firefighter cancer benefits and prevention, which was amended to add a statement of important state interest and reported favorably after testimony from firefighters both supporting the bill and urging a longer benefit window; SB 576 on local government cybersecurity, which was amended to route the program through the Florida Digital Service and strengthen state-local coordination; SB 964 clarifying how certain gift and honoraria disclosures are filed with the Commission on Ethics; SB 1612 requiring local governments to accept electronic payments with a delayed effective date; SB 830 creating public records exemptions for certain local government administrators and their families; SB 1096 clarifying the filing deadline for employment discrimination complaints; and SB 1656 designating the SS American Victory as Florida’s official state flagship. All were reported favorably. The committee also considered a slate of appointments, including a separate vote on Jeffrey Aaron to the Public Employees Relations Commission, which was recommended favorably after Senator Polsky objected to the appointment and cited concerns about political ties and prior work. The remaining appointees on tabs 12 through 30 were also recommended favorably. After a recess, the committee took up SB 1296 on the Public Employees Relations Commission, as substituted by a committee PCS. The PCS would change union certification and recertification rules, require stronger showing-of-interest and voting thresholds, limit paid union leave in some cases, require equal access to employer communication spaces, and speed up impasse procedures for state-funded salary increases. The bill drew extensive testimony, with supporters arguing it would improve accountability, transparency, and taxpayer fairness, and opponents—many of them teachers, bus drivers, and other public employees—saying it would weaken collective bargaining, burden workers, and function as union busting. Members raised constitutional concerns about the single-subject rule and collective bargaining protections, and debate was ongoing at the end of the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• The board is clear.
• parole board.
• The board is clear.
• This was her home.
• Amendment 22 removes the requirement that the Crime Victims Compensation Board set standards for the

Bills: HB91 , HB123 , HB167 , HB255 , HB264 , HB321 , HB884 , HB955 , HB967 , HB968 , HB969 , HB978 , HB985 , HB994 , HB1005 , HB1104 , HB1107 , HB1109 , SCR3

Committee: House Administration of Criminal Justice

Keywords: criminal procedure, disclosure, criminal records, witness protection, trial rights, electronic monitoring, GPS ankle monitor, ankle bracelet, pretrial release, post-conviction supervision, bail monitoring, house arrest, corrections, criminal justice, law enforcement, prosecuting authority, court reporting, provider registration, LCLE, Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Criminal Justice

Transcript Highlights:

• The bill includes standard guardrails, including a tariff.
• That means workforce development.
• Secretary will lock the board and record the vote. Secretary, lock the board and record the vote.
• Secretary will lock the board and record the vote.
• Can we open the board and all co-sponsor this bill, please?

Summary: The Senate convened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and several recognitions before taking up a special order calendar of bills. Early measures included a claims bill for relief to L.E. through the Department of Children and Families, which passed 34-0 after substitution from the House version, and a claims bill for the estate of Mark Legata, which passed 35-0 after the amount was reduced in the substitute. The chamber then approved CS for CS for SB 42 on child protective investigations and specific medical diagnoses, requiring investigators to consider certain medical conditions that can mimic abuse; the sponsor described it as a fix for cases where medical evidence is overlooked, and it passed 34-0. A bill on autism education for teachers was also substituted with the House version, amended to replace the Senate language, and passed 35-0 after supportive remarks from members. The Senate next passed a land-use bill, SB 218, adjusting hurricane-related development restrictions so they continue in storm-damaged counties but expire in unaffected counties in 2026, with debate focused on local control and recovery needs; it passed 36-0. The chamber then approved several other measures with little or no opposition: a probate bill modernizing curators of estates (36-0), a Blue Ribbon Projects bill creating a framework for large planned developments with conservation set-asides, which drew extensive debate over local control, growth management, and the bill’s breadth before being temporarily postponed, a state lotteries update (36-0), a diploma requirements bill allowing Special Olympics participation to substitute for PE and clarifying marching band credit (36-0), and a naturopathic medicine licensure/regulation bill that reestablishes a licensing framework and board, which passed 33-3. The Justice Administrative Commission bill was amended to broaden membership to include a judge or senior judge and passed 37-0. The Senate also passed a public records exemption for certain local administrators and their families (31-5), a clinical laboratory personnel bill easing staffing requirements by aligning more closely with federal CLIA standards (37-0), a dry needling bill clarifying occupational therapists may perform the practice (37-0), a financial disclosures bill revising gift/honoraria reporting and restoring a percentage-based reporting option via amendment (36-0), and a child welfare bill expanding when parental drug abuse can be treated as harm or neglect and allowing earlier court intervention and services (37-0). Later, the chamber took up a bill on ideologies inconsistent with American principles and terrorist organizations. The sponsor said it would prevent enforcement of foreign or religious law over the Constitution, create a due-process process for domestic terrorist designations, and bar public funds from supporting terrorism. Senators raised questions about the lack of a time limit on conduct used for designation and whether conviction is required; an amendment was then offered to remove specific references to Sharia law and the bill’s findings, with the sponsor of the amendment arguing the language stigmatized Muslim constituents and singled out Islam. The transcript cuts off during that amendment debate, so no final action on the bill is shown in the provided text.

Transcript Highlights:

• All right, members, we will go to 12, Department of Health, Arkansas State Board of Nursing.
• Good afternoon, Ashley Davis, Director of the Arkansas State Board of Nursing. Good afternoon.
• Ashley Davis, Director of the Arkansas State Board of Nursing.
• Good afternoon, David Dawson, the attorney for the Board of Nursing. Thank you for being here.
• Scott McKinnon, chairman of the Board of Appraisers, Abstractors, and Home Inspectors.

Committee: All ALC-ADMINISTRATIVE RULES

Summary: The Administrative Rules Subcommittee met to review a long agenda of agency rule changes, beginning with housekeeping on the order of business and then taking up rules from multiple state agencies. Early items included Department of Energy and Environment rules on landfill post-closure trust fund spending thresholds and liquefied petroleum gas standards, DFA’s odometer disclosure rule allowing electronic signatures and disclosures, and several Department of Health rules covering ionizing radiation, mobile home and recreational parks, lead-based paint, counseling licensure, hearing instrument dispensers, athletic training, dental specialties and compacts, nursing, pharmacy, physician assistants, medical compacts, speech-language pathology and audiology, radiologic technology, massage therapy, community health workers, doula certification, and cosmetology/body art. Most of these were described as technical updates, conformity with recent acts, federal standards, or compact participation, and nearly all were approved without objection after brief questions and, in many cases, no public comment. The committee also reviewed Department of Labor and Licensing rules on minimum wage/independent contractor standards, boiler rules, motor vehicle commission requirements for ATV/LSV dealers, professional wrestling regulation, appraiser qualifications, and military recruiting and retention programs. Testimony generally emphasized that the rules implemented recent legislation, updated fees or licensing standards, or streamlined existing processes. Members asked a few questions about fee structures, the rationale for regulating professional wrestling, and how the National Guard’s public-private partnership and incentive programs would work; the department said the recruiting incentives would be funded from existing appropriations and were intended to improve retention and force strength. These rules were also approved without objection. The most extensive discussion came on the Department of Education’s Arkansas Children’s Educational Freedom Account Program rule. The department said the revisions, based on Act 920 of 2025, were intended to add guardrails, clarify allowable expenses, and speed approval of core educational purchases. Changes included defining core educational expenses, limiting certain sports-related spending, adding an intentional misuse standard, restricting phone purchases except for disability-related needs, setting a $1,000 threshold for additional review of technology purchases, capping carryover funds at $8,500, and creating a reconsideration process for denied expenses. Members raised concerns about safeguards, appeals, sports equipment, provider credentialing, rural vendor access, and whether the department would be flexible or overly restrictive. The department said it would review every request, provide written explanations for denials, allow appeals up to the State Board, and refer suspected fraud to prosecutors if necessary. After hearing from 13 members of the public, the committee continued to discuss the rule, but the transcript ends before any final vote on the EFA rule is shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• Workforce programs?
• Close the board. The clerk will close the board and tally the vote.
• They do regulatory things relating to nursing homes.
• Close the board. Close the board.
• Let's go home.

Keywords: 959, house, all