Transcript Highlights:

• clarity on how this is going to work.
• So both entities can work together, like the county and the... Okay. Yes, sir. Thank you.
• But you think you got it worked out where everybody would be happy now?
• That's all worked out. Yeah, that's worked out. Page eight there.
• And I commend you for working with the people that had some questions. Thank you.

Committees: House Economic Development , House Joint Committee on Rural Economic Development

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> of peace guide our work today. Amen. of peace guide our work today. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
• </c> doing such amazing work. doing such amazing work.
• Also, 772, work group on bill.
• </c> worked really hard on it. worked really hard on it.
• </c> &gt;&gt; Thank you both for working it out. &gt;&gt; Thank you both for working it out.

Transcript Highlights:

• limited lines travel insurance providers or producers are responsible for acts committed by certain unlicensed
• I want to thank all of our committee members for being here and for the hard work everyone has done on
• their bills in working with various individual stakeholders, tribes.
• It's important that we continue to do our outreach and work on very important policy that we have before

Bills: SB6248 , SB5976 , SB6079 , SB6250 , SB6257 , SB6289 , SB6230 , SB6312 , SB6149 , SGA9060 , SGA9169 , SGA9265 , SGA9266

Committee: Senate Business, Trade & Economic Development

Keywords: travel insurance, travel protection plan, travel assistance services, cancellation fee waiver, travel retailer, travel administrator, limited lines producer, insurance producer license, blanket travel insurance, trip cancellation, trip interruption, travel medical coverage, emergency evacuation, repatriation, inland marine, premium tax, consumer protection, unfair trade practice, insurance commissioner, Washington RCW

Transcript Highlights:

• limited lines travel insurance providers or producers are responsible for acts committed by certain unlicensed
• I want to thank all of our committee members for being here and for the hard work everyone has done on
• their bills in working with various individual stakeholders.
• It's important that we continue to do our outreach and work on very important policy that we have before

Summary: The Senate Trade and Economic Development Committee met in executive session on cutoff day and received staff briefings on several gubernatorial appointments and bills, including SB 6248 on travel insurance, SB 5976 on false subject lines in commercial emails, SB 6079 on a wildfire mitigation grant program, SB 6250 on small loan principal limits, SB 6257 on real estate appraiser trainee licensing tolling, SB 6289 on the Department of Commerce’s economic development strategic plan, SB 6230 on rounding cash transactions to eliminate pennies, and SB 6149 on the definition of rural counties. Staff also noted a new substitute for SB 6149 that narrowed the rural county definition and reduced the fiscal impact. The committee briefly paused for caucus before taking action. In executive session, the committee voted to recommend confirmation of gubernatorial appointments 9060 (Alicia Levy), 9169 (Michael Charles), 9265 (Brian Bennett), and 9266 (Noah Skartford), all subject to signatures. It then advanced SB 6248, SB 6079, SB 6250, SB 6257, SB 6289, SB 6230, and SB 6149, generally by adopting proposed substitutes and sending the bills to Rules, except SB 6079, which was sent to Ways and Means. SB 5976 was not considered. At the close of the meeting, the chair thanked members, stakeholders, and staff for their work during the short session and noted the committee had completed its agenda. The committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Senator Umberg, SB 342, Contractors, Unlicensed Work. The action is due pass.
• You made the job a lot easier, and I think we worked great together as a team.
• You made the job a lot easier, and I think we worked great together as a team.

Summary: The Senate Appropriations Committee held a vote-only suspense file hearing with no public testimony, taking up a long list of Senate bills and amendments. Measures discussed included battery recycling, property tax exemptions, railroad wayside detector systems, military protective orders, an affordable housing bond, fireworks permits, workers’ compensation earnings, metal shredding facilities, election system inspection, family research centers, electrical rates and political influence, AI standards and safety, youth housing bonds, student health, air quality standards for hydrogen sulfide, electrical infrastructure, disaster preparedness, property taxation for family homes and farms, state agency contract bid preferences, presidential election qualifications, unlicensed contractor work, alcohol and drug programs, generative AI in legal settings, kratom and nitrous oxide, unmanned aircraft, adoptees’ birth certificates, body-worn cameras, physician certificate revocation, and deprivation of constitutional rights. Several bills were amended before passage, including changes to bond measures, technical fixes, narrowed remedies, and other author-requested revisions. Most measures advanced on unanimous 7-0 votes, while a number of higher-profile or more controversial bills passed on 5-2 votes with Republicans voting no. SB 667 on railroads passed 4-2 after amendments; SB 691 on body-worn cameras passed 6-0; and SB 742 on permanently abandoned electrical infrastructure passed after a roll call that was corrected on the floor. The committee repeatedly substituted roll calls from earlier bills to record votes on many items, reflecting the suspense-file process. No testimony was taken, and the chair emphasized that all items had already been heard previously. At the end of the hearing, the chair announced it was their last meeting presiding over Appropriations, thanked the committee staff and members, and the committee adjourned after noting that results and addendum analyses would be posted online for amended bills.

Transcript Highlights:

• Senator Umberg, SB 342, Contractors Unlicensed Work. The action is due pass.
• You made the job a lot easier, and I think we worked great together as a team.
• You made the job a lot easier, and I think we worked great together as a team.

Committee: Senate Appropriations

Transcript Highlights:

• So if you're working at the L.A. campus finding a place to live in work is costly.
• Excellent work and really proud of the work that you do. I've been able to interface with Mr.
• We appreciate all the hard work.
• The illicit market is a big blind spot, and so over the years that we've been working working on these
• We never stopped working. working in service of communities.

Transcript Highlights:

• Brooks' work as well.
• and community support work.
• So, and talk about a heavy lift, I mean, God knows this is not easy work. It is not easy work.
• We're really trying to protect that work, that really important policy work.
• We are working with GSD right now.

Committee: House House Appropriations & Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• We worked this out with the fire marshal; everyone was on board.
• Some homes may remain unlicensed and unregulated.
• I work with El Paso Electric as a registered lobbyist. We have been working on this bill.
• We don't have the advantage of opting out if a decision works or doesn't work for us.
• But the memorial is not a stop work order. It does not.

Bills: HB303 , SB96 , HM6

Committee: House House Commerce & Economic Development Committee

Keywords: public utility, certificate of public convenience and necessity, certificate of need, Public Regulation Commission, PRC, utility regulation, ratemaking, energy storage, battery storage, grid reliability, renewable energy, transmission, distribution, generation plant, utility expansion, service territory, mutual domestic water consumer association, economic development department, clean energy, fossil fuel reduction

Transcript Highlights:

• So we're working this bill through the process.
• I think it needs some work.
• He and I continue to work on it.
• In my everyday work at a nonprofit, I work with a lot of elderly individuals. ...I work at a nonprofit
• So I have worked... I have worked with women in crisis for over a decade on the daily.

Committee: Senate Health Policy

Summary: The committee took up a large health policy agenda. SB 1568 on electronic prescribing was explained as a federal conformity measure, but members raised concerns about preserving patients’ ability to obtain paper prescriptions and about exemptions for emergency, hospice, and other situations. Emergency physicians testified in support of e-prescribing but asked for flexibility, and the bill was reported favorably despite Senator Harrell’s opposition. SB 1606 on patient access to records sought to standardize record-production timelines and require electronic delivery when available; after an amendment correcting a drafting error, the bill drew concerns about HIPAA, behavioral health confidentiality, and the distinction between personal and legal representatives, and it was reported unfavorably as a committee substitute. The committee then approved SB 1346 on fentanyl testing, with a technical amendment, to require hospitals and campus emergency departments to test for fentanyl in urine testing for suspected overdose or poisoning. SB 1224 on administration of controlled substances by paramedics was amended to clarify language and reported favorably. SB 656 on health care billing and collection activities was substantially revised by strike-all amendment to allow sale of medical debt to third parties under new limits, including no interest or fees and return of debt if charity care applies; it was reported favorably as a committee substitute. SB 68 expanded health facilities authority financing to include not-for-profit LLCs and parent companies, and SB 524 added Duchenne muscular dystrophy to the newborn screening panel; both were reported favorably. Later, the committee approved SB 1842 on out-of-network referrals after multiple amendments, requiring providers to verify network participation at the point of service and notify patients in writing, though several members and physicians warned it could burden providers and increase workload. The committee also advanced proposed committee bill SB 7028, which revises the Casey DeSantis Cancer Research Program, adds oversight and reporting requirements, creates a pediatric cancer research incubator, and establishes the Bascom-Palmer VisionGen initiative; cancer center representatives testified in strong support, and the bill was reported favorably as a committee bill. SB 172 on specialty titles and designations was amended to clarify enforcement and was reported favorably after supporters said it would prevent misleading use of specialist titles, while opponents argued it could confuse practitioners’ titles. Finally, SB 1690 on surrendered infants was reported favorably after supporters said it would codify and expand safe-haven baby box procedures and opponents raised safety concerns about the devices. The committee also noted SB 1606 remained pending for reconsideration next week before adjourning.

Transcript Highlights:

• This is a straightforward update to keep the program working as intended.
• to try to work out the details of this.
• So I appreciate the work that you do and that all of your colleagues do.
• Typical politician to come in to get all the credit and not do the hard work.
• I've worked as an...

Committee: House Business and Professions

Transcript Highlights:

• This is a straightforward update to keep the program working as intended.
• to try to work out the details of this.
• So I appreciate the work that you do and that all of your colleagues do.
• Typical politician to come in to get all the credit and not do the hard work.
• I've worked as an...

Summary: The Assembly Business and Professions Committee heard a full agenda of bills covering travel consumer protections, cannabis commerce with tribes, medical record integrity, pest control licensing, pawn and gold-buying regulation, pharmacy discipline, land surveying, and expedited licensing for veterans separated under a federal transgender military policy. Members also later heard AB 1973, which would expand the ability of advanced practice clinicians to provide abortion care, with supporters arguing it would improve access and opponents warning about safety and scope-of-practice concerns. Several bills were presented before quorum was reached, and the chair repeatedly urged absent members to arrive so the committee could vote. Testimony on the bills was largely in support. Authors and witnesses said AB 1758 would raise the seller-of-travel assessment cap to keep the Travel Consumer Restitution Fund solvent; AB 2506 would allow state cannabis licensees to sell products from tribal licensees while respecting tribal sovereignty; AB 1637 would prevent non-physicians from altering physician-authored medical notes; AB 2477 would create a short provisional period for pest control workers awaiting licensure; AB 2633 would close a loophole involving remote gold-buying events and stolen property reporting; AB 2141 would let the Board of Pharmacy resolve some cases through stipulated settlements before formal accusations; and AB 1933 would make technical clarifications to land surveying law. AB 1775 drew emotional testimony from transgender service members and advocates describing the impact of federal separation policies and the need for California licensing and support. Once quorum was established, the committee voted out the consent calendar and each of the heard bills, generally on party-line or near-unanimous votes. AB 1637, AB 1758, AB 1775, AB 1933, AB 2141, AB 2477, AB 2506, and AB 2633 all passed out of committee, most to Appropriations or another policy committee as noted. AB 1973 also passed, despite a no vote from some members and an opposition witness from the California Family Council. The committee later took vote changes and additional roll calls for absent members before adjourning.

Transcript Highlights:

• She knows how diabetes is prevalent in the school districts, and so I look forward to working with you
• So how does that work? You know, the heading is athletics, public high school.
• So how does that work? Because it's important to have an electrocardiogram.
• I’d be happy to work with you and provide greater clarity as we continue through the process.
• Work with them, and that's why this legislation is necessary. Additional questions.

Committee: Senate Health Policy

Summary: The Health Policy Committee heard and advanced several health-related bills. SB 1546 on background screening for athletic coaches was explained as another extension of the deadline for coaches to be added to the background screening clearinghouse; it passed favorably with support from athletic and youth sports organizations. SB 958 on type 1 diabetes early detection was amended to match the House version, requiring the Department of Health to provide school districts, school boards, and charter schools with informational materials for parents; it was reported favorably as a committee substitute. CS/SB 1070 on electrocardiograms for student athletes drew extensive discussion about sudden cardiac arrest prevention, implementation timelines, costs, funding through private and public sources, and whether insurance, KidCare, or Medicaid should cover screenings; after supportive testimony from school and athletic groups, it was reported favorably as a committee substitute. The committee also heard SB 1060, which would create a joint legislative oversight committee for Medicaid managed care to review encounter data, financials, audits, and rebate calculations with assistance from an actuary and the Auditor General. The sponsor and several senators framed it as a transparency and verification measure in response to large mid-year Medicaid funding increases and concerns about network adequacy and vertical integration; it passed favorably. CS/SB 944, which shortens the insurer overpayment recovery look-back period for claims involving psychologists from 30 months to 12 months, also passed favorably with support from the Florida Psychological Association. SB 1370, moving ambulatory surgical centers into their own statute rather than under hospital licensure provisions, was supported by surgery center representatives and reported favorably. The committee approved SB 768, as amended, to narrow the foreign-country-of-concern licensure attestation for health care entities to direct controlling interests and clarify the “reasonable efforts” standard; it passed after questions about how the standard would work in practice. SB 1544 on opticianry prompted significant debate over whether the bill would limit nonlicensed staff in ophthalmology and optometry settings; after a proposed amendment was withdrawn and multiple witnesses spoke both for and against, the bill was temporarily postponed. Finally, the committee adopted a strike-all amendment to SB 1808 requiring health care practitioners and facilities to refund patient overpayments within 30 days, with enforcement through AHCA fines or professional discipline, and then reported the bill favorably.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> veterinary technicians and unlicensed veterinary technicians and unlicensed personnel.<00:25:20.080
• </c><00:31:41.039><c> with</c> a lot of collaborative work with a lot of collaborative work with veterinarians
• </c><00:32:30.720><c> Uh</c> are normal scope of frier work. Uh are normal scope of frier work.
• As you know, last hard work on this.
• </c><00:57:35.920><c> Um,</c> products they're working with. Um, products they're working with.

Committee: Senate Agriculture, Veterans, Broadband, and Rural Development

Transcript Highlights:

• They continue to work together to improve.
• Carbon doesn't work like that. ozone, where it burns off.
• Although, so again, I worked in Houston.
• Chairman Smithee, I'm working through your bill.
• stayed in one place, how do you see that working?

Bills: HJR34 , HB 113 , HB184 , HB198 , HB247 , HB367 , HB449 , HB1778 , HB514 , HB576 , HB632 , HB1395 , HB2225 , HB2582 , HB2494 , HB766 , HB2715 , HB2712 , HB3069 , HB3505 , HB 1269 , HB4224 , HB3609 , HB5032 , HB2240 , HB5180 , HB3348 , HB4668 , HB4909 , HB4665 , HB4895 , HB3395 , HB3157 , HB4762 , HB4395 , HB4325 , HB4952 , HB4386 , HB4273 , HB2760 , HB2697 , HB2820 , HB1828 , HB1768 , HB1579 , HB1773 , HB1871 , HB2035 , HB2448 , HB2492 , HB1411 , HB4753 , HB4666 , HB4529 , HB1499 , HB1610 , HB2028 , HB1506 , HB886 , HB3546 , HB796 , HB223 , HB1475 , HB3556 , HB4638 , HCR126 , HB38 , HB 104 , SB1008 , SB1106 , SB1172 , SB2629 , SB2964 , SB616 , HB2214 , SB552 , HB3181 , HB3628 , HB589 , HB3529 , HB3354 , HB333 , HB2914 , HB4130 , HB4131 , HB24 , HB 1160 , HB3962 , HB4115 , HB2295 , HB5398 , HB1407 , HB3800 , HB2613 , HJR138 , HB42 , HJR34 , HB 129 , HB677 , HB426 , HB668 , HB1699 , HB2017 , HB2128 , HB2038 , HB3783 , HB3717 , HB2316 , HB3686 , HB2563 , HB3883 , HB4021 , HB2788 , HB2663 , HB3305 , HB3173 , HB3474 , HB 1105 , HB3531 , HB3490 , HB3597 , HB 1295 , HB3512 , HB3010 , HB3112 , HB4215 , HB3223 , HB3464 , HB3120 , HB4214 , HB4511 , HB3704 , HB4081 , HB4783 , HB4063 , HB2783 , HB4937 , HB5085 , HB2510 , HB3426 , HB4361 , HB 1169 , HB2516 , HB2347 , HB4034 , HB4700 , HB3560 , HB5150 , HB3860 , HB3146 , HB3924 , HB 113 , HB184 , HB198 , HB247 , HB367 , HB449 , HB1778 , HB514 , HB576 , HB632 , HB1395 , HB2225 , HB2582 , HB2494 , HB766 , HB2715 , HB2712 , HB3069 , HB3505 , HB 1269 , HB4224 , HB3609 , HB5032 , HB2240 , HB5180 , HB3348 , HB4668 , HB4909 , HB4665 , HB4895 , HB3395 , HB3157 , HB4762 , HB4395 , HB4325 , HB4952 , HB4386 , HB4273 , HB2760 , HB2697 , HB2820 , HB1828 , HB1768 , HB1579 , HB1773 , HB1871 , HB2035 , HB2448 , HB2492 , HB1411 , HB4753 , HB4666 , HB4529 , HB1499 , HB1610 , HB2028 , HB1506 , HB886 , HB3546 , HB796 , HB223 , HB1475 , HB3556 , HB4638 , HCR98 , HCR92 , HCR126

Transcript Highlights:

• They work best together.
• Viewed as unlicensed security officers here in the state of Florida.
• Chair, for the work of your staff and helping us with this bill.
• Chair, for the work of your staff and helping us with this bill.
• Am I understanding that that’s how your amendment would work in application?

Committee: Senate Criminal Justice

Transcript Highlights:

• I look forward to working with each of you as we navigate these extraordinary circumstances.
• This is a bill that is working in that gap where so much of our social safety net is about adults.
• Well, first off, thank you, Chair and committee for your work on AB 277. This bill would require...
• Thank you so much, Alanis, for working the committee on this bill.
• Wait, then it would have worked, huh?

Committee: House Human Services

Transcript Highlights:

• I want to thank the committee staff for their work on this bill, and I'll be accepting the committee
• AB 277 would require unlicensed employees who provide behavioral health treatment to undergo a background
• Assembly Member, I always appreciate you and I working together on protecting children, so I always appreciate
• But when there is an understanding of the need to respectfully work together at a binational level, something

Committee: Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development

Transcript Highlights:

• I have worked with the Contractor State Licensing Board to identify this difference, clarifying that
• of them—even a million dollars involving a lot of work that was construction work.
• There are restrictions that rein in even artistic works, and creativity does need that.
• It's all construction work, and it needs to be, how do you say, overseen.
• to permit this work."

Committee: House Arts, Entertainment, Sports, and Tourism

Transcript Highlights:

• While there's still more work to be done, and we will continue this work through the interim and next
• continue to work because, like I said at the beginning of this, there is more work to be done.
• Since the early 2000s, we really started working on systems improvement work.
• So just shout out for the work of the good work done here. May I? Thank you. Go ahead.
• But I appreciate the work you've done, and we'll continue to work together.

Committee: Joint Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on the Department of Child Safety

Summary: The Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on the Department of Child Safety met to review child welfare reforms developed after prior oversight hearings on the deaths of Emily Pike, Zariah Dodd, and Rebecca Baptiste. Committee members and the chair described a series of stakeholder meetings with tribes, DCS, law enforcement, county attorneys, schools, and other advocates that produced several bills aimed at improving communication, reporting, investigations, and court decision-making. The chair said SB 1125, creating a tribal-DCS memorandum of understanding, had already been signed, and highlighted HB 1126 on school records access, HB 1127 on mandatory reporting by people with direct knowledge, HB 1174 on hotline case history and review of prior reports, HB 1175 on photo documentation of children in care, HB 1496 on allowing attorneys to share more safety information with judges, and HB 1631 requiring advanced forensic interviews within 72 hours in sexual abuse cases, with some exceptions. DCS Director Catherine Patak presented agency data showing nearly 160,000 hotline calls in 2025, about 43,000 investigations, and a relatively steady out-of-home care population that ended the year at 7,077 children. She said about 3,000 children were reunified, 1,300 adopted, and 800 entered guardianship, while 1,100 young adults received transition services. She also reported 534 new foster homes licensed, a 50% reimbursement increase for older youth caregivers, a 40% decrease in youth missing from care since September 2024, and a 30% reduction in fatalities of children in care since 2024. Patak discussed the annual fatality review process, noting that 52 of 123 alleged fatality or near-fatality reports had prior DCS involvement, and described agency responses such as health plans for children with complex medical needs, a diabetes training app, expanded LifeSet services, fentanyl and safe-sleep prevention campaigns, staffing realignment, retention efforts, and improved coordination with law enforcement and tribes. Members asked about group home notification rules, the distinction between “missing” and “runaway,” behavioral health needs driving children back into care, training under Jacob’s Law, and whether best practices exist for placing sexually abused youth with appropriate staff. Patak said DCS is updating rules to remove “runaway” and “AWOL” in favor of “missing,” and that the agency is considering whether the statute’s immediate-or-24-hour reporting language should be clarified. She also said DCS does not currently have a specific staffing requirement tied to a child’s sex in group homes, but would look into practices in other states. The committee then heard from Malcolm Hightower of Casey Family Programs, who said Arizona is generally in the middle of the pack nationally: slightly higher than average in foster care entries and congregate care use, but near the national average on screening, substantiation, recurrence, re-entry, and maltreatment fatalities. He praised Arizona’s kin placement rate, said congregate care remains a challenge, and noted that neglect definitions and poverty-related removals remain an area of policy discussion. Finally, K.C. Melsick of Collaborative Safety described the organization’s safety-science approach to systemic critical incident reviews, arguing that child welfare systems should move away from blame and toward learning from near-misses and system failures. Members discussed applying similar methods across state agencies, and the committee adjourned after members and witnesses emphasized continued collaboration and further reforms in the interim and next session.