Transcript Highlights:

• This is a tool that assesses organizations' disability inclusion practices in areas such as culture,
• So we discuss that in our hiring practices, our promotions, opportunities for individuals... ...because
• We want to advocate and promote communication and attitudes of best practices as we develop these modules
• So we also, as an ELG, try to bring more allyship practices and to ensure that individuals who don't
• Another item that they could help us with is leveraging national and state comparative data, best-practice

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Persons with Disabilities subcommittee on Disability Employment approved the prior meeting minutes, welcomed new commission member Victoria Gill, and heard an opening quote on leadership before moving to presentations and planning. The main presentation was from Kristen Grip and Katie McCarthy of Boston Children’s Hospital’s Disability Alliance employee-led group, which described its mission to build an inclusive workplace through education, community-building, and advocacy. They discussed monthly disability-awareness programming, intersectional events, accommodation and accessibility efforts, internal ableism, universal design, and BCH’s recognition in the 2025 Disability Equality Index. They also described their own lived experience and emphasized that employees with disabilities should lead disability-related workplace efforts. Committee members asked how to start a disability employee resource group and what external partnerships might help. The presenters said BCH’s HR diversity team helped launch the group over about a year, and members noted related resources, including a Work Without Limits guide and possible connections with Spalding Rehabilitation and other hospitals. The committee also discussed BCH’s continued support for disability inclusion work despite broader political pressure, and members praised the hospital’s efforts and offered to share additional contacts and resources. The subcommittee then turned to possible collaboration with SEED, the State Exchange on Employment and Disability, on Massachusetts as a model employer and benefit cliff analysis work. Members agreed SEED could help with policy framing, comparative data, stakeholder education, and youth disability employment efforts, and they approved inviting SEED to brief the subcommittee in January or February. The group also discussed possible links to CAPE-Youth, Commonwealth HR and DEI offices, and a future partnership with the Office of the Veterans Advocate. The meeting ended with a motion to adjourn, which was seconded and approved.

Transcript Highlights:

• The commission is responsible for protecting fair employment practices by maintaining due process for
• I've spent a lot of my practice in front of civil service commissions, and I was thinking this morning
• As you know, a civil service commission is intended to ensure fair employment practices, and one of the
• consider having a study so that the Texas Commission on Jail Standards can really give some best practices
• those minimum jail standards, the minimum that is set in place and being able to recommend best practices

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:52:16.240> because And your bill is not practical because And your bill is not practical
• Not because we disagree with restorative practices. We love restorative practices.
• using restorative practices. using restorative practices.
• We love with restorative practices.
• <01:14:16.000> We historical restorative practices. We historical restorative practices.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• The Data Practices Act limits what information about an employee is public.
• The Data Practices Act designates all final discipline as public data.
• <00:04:44.960> not intended to improve their practice not intended to improve their practice
• <00:05:03.360> Act accessible the data Practices Act accessible the data Practices Act designates
• So we're simply trying to get some funding to come in alignment with current law and practice.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• posting of Interstate Commission bylaws, rules, and minutes, enacting new sections of the Medical Practice
• Requiring award recipients to be health professionals who currently maintain practice in New Mexico or
• agree to relocate to and commence practice in New Mexico. practice in New Mexico or agree to relocate
• to and commence practice in New Mexico.
• coverage carriers shall cover all types of health care providers working within their legal scopes of practice

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm curious how this works out in practice.
• I'm curious how this works out in practice.
• Yeah, I'm worried about practice.
• It's just not good practice.
• I think that is best practice, but are you going to get in trouble for that?

Summary: The House opened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, then approved the House Journal for the 58th day by roll call vote, 123-1. Members also introduced a number of special guests, including physicians, sheriffs, students, interns, and a police chief, before moving to third reading and perfection of bills. House Bill 1758, dealing with permanent daylight saving time in Missouri, was debated at length. Supporters said it would end the twice-yearly clock changes and argued it could benefit children, productivity, and quality of life. Opponents warned it would create darker morning commutes, safety concerns, and health issues tied to circadian rhythms. The bill passed third reading by a vote of 107-31 with two present. The chamber then perfected and printed House Bill 3329, which repeals expired or unused tax credits, and House Bill 3405, which clarifies that SALT/pass-through entity provisions are deductions rather than tax credits for Department of Revenue processing. Both bills were described as cleanup and efficiency measures, with supporters emphasizing accountability and reduced manual work at DOR; both moved forward without opposition in committee and were approved on the floor. Finally, House Bill 2426, a parental rights bill, drew extensive debate and an amendment. The bill would elevate parents’ rights in education, medical, privacy, and related decisions to a fundamental-rights standard and add provisions on school records, recordings, evaluations, and certain health-care decisions. Critics argued it was overly broad, could interfere with school operations and existing protections, and might create problems in areas such as IEPs, truancy, and medical consent; supporters said it simply codified and strengthened parental authority. House Amendment 1, focused on IEP procedures and requiring parental consent for major changes, was adopted 98-25 with six present, and debate on the underlying bill continued.

Transcript Highlights:

• warning them that uh deceptive practices warning them that uh deceptive practices can<01:17:44.320
• physician or you know advanced practice physician or you know advanced practice nurse<01:21:48.719
• You know, there are practices in southern New Hampshire. I can name many practices.
• You know, there are practices in southern New Hampshire. I can name many practices.
• You know, there are practices in southern New Hampshire. I can name many practices.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• No judgment, no frustration, just practice. Then there's the monkey mind.
• Meditation<00:01:46.240> practice.
• Label it and return Meditation practice.
• judgment, no frustration, just practice. judgment, no frustration, just practice.
• We practice it. We accept So we do this. We practice it.

Keywords: House streaming session for Friday, February 13, 2026, 957, house, all

Summary: The House convened with 125 members present, heard a prayer and opening remarks, and then proceeded through the journal, committee assignments, and several consent calendars. Introductory House Bills 1358 through 1585 were read the first time and referred to the appropriate committees, along with bond initiatives 34 through 37 and Senate Bill 14. House Bill 1215 was later reassigned to Appropriations. The House also recorded quorum calls showing 129 and later 131 members present. On third reading and final passage, House Bill 28, concerning higher education and private career schools advertising, passed 128-0. House Bill 226, establishing Department of Disabilities housing programs and affiliated foundations, passed 122-6. House Bill 229, increasing the Maryland Transportation Authority revenue bond limit, passed 96-33. No debate was recorded on these bills before the roll calls. The remainder of the session consisted largely of committee, subcommittee, delegation, caucus, and personal announcements. Committees announced upcoming voting sessions or cancellations, including Appropriations, Economic Matters, Environment and Transportation, Health, Judiciary, Ways and Means, and Rules. Members also made numerous recognitions and invitations, including a briefing on the Patuxent River sewer interceptor breakage, district nights, a Tourism Day lunch, and several birthday and family announcements. The protocol chair led a Valentine’s Day recognition of House staff, and the House then recessed until Monday, February 16 at 8:00 p.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• program would not only make Minnesota's roads safer but would also help cut this discriminatory practice
• alleviate the widespread discrimination imposed by insurance companies whose premiums are set by practices
• It's no surprise that these biased practices negatively impact low-income Minnesotans who are being priced
• practice towards our lowincome<00:03:42.120> residents<00:03:43.120> people<00:03:43.439
• <00:04:45.919> that<00:04:46.080> have set by practices that have set by practices

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Over the past several years in practicing law, I’ve seen occasions where individuals who are on Medicare
• As I saw this happening in my practice, I thought, well, this is just wrong.
• I'm an attorney in private practice in Mobile, Alabama. However, I have clients across the state.
• I have a diverse practice.
• The problem comes in with how it plays out, at least not in my practice.

Bills: SB210, SB225, HB280, HB287, HB94, HB88, SB157, HB7, HB8, HB42

Keywords: hospital liens, medical billing, government healthcare, insurance claims, patient rights, blood tests, DUI, law enforcement, traffic offenses, chemical analysis, public nuisance, event liability, local government, community health, legal action, transparency, reporting, public safety, regulation, accountability

Transcript Highlights:

• The four bills before the committee today aim to put these principles into practice.
• A common practice in... ...ability to contamination is increased.
• They're getting another permit to practically double the size of that.
• How could this agency be okay with these devastating practices?
• How could this agency be okay with these devastating practices?

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The hearing covered a broad set of environmental and water-related bills, with much of the testimony focused on blue economy and circular economy proposals, drought management, drinking water safety, flood resilience, and water infrastructure funding. Supporters of bills such as H. 987 and H. 988 described grant programs for blue economy workforce development, research, small businesses, and public education about a circular economy. Other speakers backed measures on coastal erosion research, recreational boating dredging, cranberry water-right transfers, sand mining oversight, and a voucher program for home water filtration in PFAS-impacted communities. Several elected officials and advocates also urged passage of bills to require private well testing, improve school drinking water safety, and address sand mining pollution and PFAS contamination. Water supply and drought issues drew extensive testimony. Senator Eldridge and others supported legislation to let the state, through DEP and the drought management task force, impose regional water-use restrictions during droughts and make the task force permanent in statute. Advocates from watershed groups, farms, and environmental organizations said the current town-by-town approach is inconsistent and ineffective, and they described drought impacts on rivers, farms, private wells, and wildfire risk. A related bill on private wells was supported as a way to help homeowners test and remediate contaminated wells, especially in rural areas without public water. The committee also heard testimony on a bill to allow the Lynnfield Water District to join the MWRA, with local officials saying the move would help address PFAS and other contamination and improve supply reliability. Another major panel supported a water infrastructure funding bill, arguing that aging drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater systems need major new investment, including support for PFAS treatment, sewer rate relief, biosolids research, and regional interconnections. Members asked about costs, funding sources, and the relationship to existing revolving loan funds; witnesses said the bill would need to be paired with future bond funding and new revenue ideas. No votes were taken during the hearing, and the chairs repeatedly invited written testimony and noted the large number of speakers.

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, page six, uh, standardized practice.
• creates a plan, trains and practices. creates a plan, trains and practices.
• <01:16:14.640> It practice annually is not burdensome.
• It practice annually is not burdensome.
• It is<01:16:15.040> practical<01:16:15.600> evidence-based is practical evidence-based

Bills: HB0076, HB0102, HB0115

Keywords: annexation, landowner rights, municipal law, city planning, property, local government, artificial intelligence, synthetic sexual material, child protection, self-harm, criminal liability, cardiac emergency, defibrillator, school safety, training, public health, 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• should be on the license, best practices.
• be on the license, best practices.
• It's best practices.
• this is not undoing those best practices this is not a<01:02:17.279> best<01:02:17.599> practice
• <02:09:26.079> here talking about detainer practices here talking about detainer practices

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• their faith or not practice their faith.
• People's ability to practice their faith or not practice their faith.
• state has a long history, and this body has had a long history of respecting people's ability to practice
• their faith or not practice their faith.
• People's ability to practice their faith or not practice their faith.

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It refines the scope of practice by permitting podiatric physicians to use certain non-FDA-approved cellular
• And also, this is not an expansion of scope of practice for podiatric physicians.
• It revises the reporting requirement language for physicians under Florida statute and advanced practice
• allows occupational therapists to perform dry needling after they complete two years of licensed practice
• It requires the board to... ...license practice and 50 hours of continuing education.

Bills: S0042, S0196, S0878, S0902, S0914, S1092, S1168, S1340, S1404, S1414, S1684, S1686

Keywords: child protection, medical records, investigation, abuse, neglect, healthcare, Child Protection Team, diagnosis, uterine fibroids, health database, medical research, personal data protection, women's health, clinical laboratory, licensure, healthcare personnel, technologist, technician, medical marijuana, low-THC cannabis

Summary: The Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services met to hear and vote on a series of health, human services, and education-related bills, along with a presentation of the committee’s proposed HHS budget. The budget was described as increasing by more than $2.1 billion over the current base, with major funding highlighted for Medicaid and KidCare, rural health, provider rate increases, child welfare, mental health and substance use, opioid treatment, Alzheimer’s initiatives, cancer research, ADAP, veterans’ services, and IT modernization. Public testimony on the budget focused heavily on AIDS Drug Assistance Program funding and concerns about Department of Health changes affecting access, premium assistance, notice, and continuity of care for people living with HIV/AIDS. Among the bills reported favorably were measures on podiatric medicine and tissue-based products (SB 1092), background screening and clearinghouse procedures (SB 1168), child protective investigations involving specific medical diagnoses and second opinions (SB 42), clinical laboratory personnel licensure standards (SB 878), uterine fibroid data tracking and research (SB 196), medical marijuana treatment center oversight and related health provisions (SB 902), dyslexia and dyscalculia screening and intervention in schools (SB 1340), memory care licensure for assisted living facilities (SB 1404), congenital CMV education materials (SB 1414), Parkinson’s disease registry and related public records exemption bills (SB 1684 and SB 1686), and occupational therapy dry needling licensure standards (SB 914). Several bills were amended before passage, including SB 1092, SB 42, SB 902, SB 1684, and SB 1404. Testimony generally came from professional associations, advocacy groups, and affected stakeholders, with support voiced for most measures. The committee adopted amendments on the floor, heard no opposition during debate on the bills described, and then voted to report each measure favorably. At the end of the meeting, senators requested to be recorded in the affirmative on selected bills, and the committee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• It's just a matter of the practice in this committee.
• That's just the practice of this committee. I appreciate you pointing that out.
• a $5,000 credit may not be the decision-maker for someone contemplating whether they're going to practice
• and upholding the practice of tabling bills that have a fiscal impact in this committee.
• But with this being said, this tabling practice is not one that's set up just for sometimes.

Bills: HB248, HB309, HB332, SB48

Keywords: general obligation bonds, GO bonds, capital projects, bond election, property tax levy, state debt, state finance, capital outlay, senior centers, senior citizen facilities, aging services, long-term services, libraries, library acquisitions, broadband for libraries, higher education, university capital projects, community colleges, tribal schools, special schools

Transcript Highlights:

• be made for the board to properly administer the compact here and to respond to applications to practice
• They'd be practicing under what's a compact privilege.
• So the final bill, 25.136.01,000, relates to our LC 25.136.01.000 relates to the scope of practice for
• the prescriptive authority that's set forth in subsections two through six may be implemented in practice
• So this is allowing a pharmacist whose practice is physically located in this state to substitute a drug

Keywords: 908, all

Summary: The committee reviewed four bill drafts for the Rural Health Transformation effort. The first required the presidential physical fitness test in PE classes; members asked about DPI and school support, then moved and approved the draft. The second required physicians to complete one hour of continuing education on nutrition and metabolic health each renewal cycle and included legislative intent encouraging other health boards to consider nutrition-related CE; it was approved after brief discussion. The third bill adopted the Physician Assistant Licensure Compact. Members discussed a separate issue involving occupational therapy compact background checks and whether that fix could be added now or would need to wait until later; the committee also discussed Board of Medicine input and the compact’s workforce benefits. The draft was moved forward to the full committee. The fourth bill expanded pharmacists’ prescriptive authority and therapeutic substitution. Legislative Council explained the draft, and Senator Roars proposed substantial amendments to narrow motion sickness, UTI, diabetes supply, and substitution provisions. Members debated whether to vote on amendments now or wait for the special session public hearing; concerns were raised about transparency, stakeholder input, and avoiding premature action. No amendment vote was taken, and the bill was left for later consideration. The committee then recessed until the next day.

Transcript Highlights:

• But what we're addressing here is a practice that unfairly shifts a business expense onto an employee
• Hernandez mentioned, many modern point-of-sale systems have updated their settings to stop this practice
• Oh, I should go back to my notes; it does make it clear that this is a practice that is prevented. practice
• I did not know that practice was happening.
• So, for years and years, our practice in our family has always been to pay cash because we know that

Transcript Highlights:

• In practice, it has not been used because the field is so large.
• Not just about previous accidents, but all kinds of safety practices, etc., etc.
• I have a small trial practice in Houston, Texas, since March 2020.
• It's not practically used.
• With all due respect, I've practiced a little longer.

Bills: SB39, SB2129, SB2141, SB2246, SB2323, SB2439, SB2722, SB 39

Keywords: commercial motor vehicle, truck liability, motor carrier, trucking, civil liability, respondeat superior, negligent entrustment, negligent maintenance, negligent loading, negligent repair, bifurcated trial, exemplary damages, punitive damages, personal injury, collision, employer liability, vicarious liability, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, Texas tort reform, commercial truck accident

Transcript Highlights:

• It's actually taking advantage of an existing practice that's already used and has been debated over
• It's actually taking advantage of an existing practice.
• It's already used that's been debated over years, you know, to protect. existing practice.
• new innovative stewardship practices and technologies.
• You must have practice. Whenever you're ready. Thank you. Good afternoon, Mr.

Summary: The committee heard a long agenda of natural resources and related bills, with several measures taken up as the committee reached quorum and many others moving on consent or with due-pass recommendations. Early items included AB 80 on carpet recycling, AB 452 creating a local process for state surf reserves, and AB 823 restricting microplastics in personal care and cleaning products. AB 80 drew broad support from recycling, labor, and environmental groups and was described as a follow-up to earlier carpet recycling reforms. AB 452 was backed by surf, tourism, environmental, and local government interests as a voluntary, community-driven way to recognize and protect surf breaks. AB 823 generated the most extensive debate, with supporters citing public health and environmental harms from microplastics and opponents warning the bill’s language could sweep in products such as sunscreens, cosmetics, and fragrance-encapsulation materials; the committee discussed possible ambiguity and EU comparisons before voting the bill out on a due-pass-as-amended basis to Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials. The committee also advanced AB 1046, which would create a narrow exemption from SB 1383 organic-waste requirements for certain crop preparers and tree nut processors that do not send organic waste to landfills. Agricultural witnesses said the bill would clarify that their operations already reuse byproducts and should not face duplicative reporting, and the measure passed with support from agricultural and rural county representatives. AB 252, the “Stop Laying Off Firefighters Act,” proposed year-round Cal Fire staffing; the author and Cal Fire supporters argued that wildfire conditions are now year-round and that maintaining trained crews would improve response and prevention, and the bill was sent to Appropriations. AB 571, a targeted CEQA exemption for the Southern California Veterans Cemetery in Anaheim, drew strong bipartisan and veterans’ support and also passed out. Later, the committee approved AB 1455, which would authorize emergency rulemaking and streamline future updates for ember-resistant building regulations after recent wildfire emergencies, and AB 687, which would let public agencies use forest-practice rules and timber-harvest plans for certain publicly funded fuel-reduction projects; AB 687 drew some opposition over scope and enforceability concerns but was still advanced. The committee also moved AB 652, allowing alternate members on the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District board to prevent quorum problems, and AB 317, a first-time homebuyer housing bill that would exempt certain small, lower-cost homes from CEQA and defer some property taxes; AB 317 prompted discussion about guardrails to avoid unintended use on larger subdivisions. Finally, AB 900, requiring the Natural Resources Agency to develop a stewardship plan for 30-by-30 lands, was heard with broad support from land trusts and conservation groups and advanced on a due-pass recommendation, and AB 738, a wildfire-rebuild bill easing solar requirements for certain disaster survivors, was introduced and discussed with questions about its narrow scope and the number of homes affected.