Transcript Highlights:

• and stakeholders to give us feedback on any changes they would like to see to our discipline, our code
• We obviously follow the District Code of Conduct, but we have policies in place that help teachers when
• , then that's when you would know that they were on that, which we do have the consequences in our code
• , then that's when you would know that they were on that, which we do have the consequences in our code
• Through the feedback parents and other stakeholders were giving related to our cell phone policy and the code

Summary: The Student Academic Success Subcommittee met to review Florida’s cell phone and social media literacy law, with Representative Brad Yeager describing the 2023 policy as aimed at removing classroom distractions and teaching students how to use social media responsibly. He said the law was intended to keep phones out of classrooms unless used for instruction, require social media literacy education, and limit access to certain sites on school Wi-Fi and government devices. Yeager said feedback since passage has been mixed: many teachers support it and some have adopted inexpensive shoe-organizer or pouch systems, but implementation varies by school and administrator enforcement. He said he is not currently pursuing a broader statewide mandate. Superintendent Dr. Maria Vazquez and Timber Creek High School Principal Mr. Wasco described Orange County’s approach as bell-to-bell phone restrictions, while Pasco County’s Dr. Zetchy described a similar policy with some flexibility during lunch or passing periods at the high school level. Both districts said the policy was implemented with parent communication, town halls, surveys, and transition periods, and that concerns about emergencies were addressed by allowing phones to be returned at the end of the day and by establishing procedures for parent contact. They reported few theft problems and said discipline issues related to phones have generally been manageable, though some teachers still struggle with enforcement or with students trying to evade the rules. A major portion of the discussion focused on social media literacy instruction. Orange County said it uses counselor-led programs, Canvas courses, resiliency days, and curriculum materials to teach students about cyberbullying, human trafficking, privacy, and the permanence of online posts, with progress tracked through the learning platform. Pasco said it has some resiliency modules but lacks a fully built-out, pre-made social media curriculum and would welcome more guidance from DOE, especially for high school classrooms where instructional time is limited. Members also asked about student anxiety, 504/IEP accommodations, caregiver students, and parent education; the districts said exceptions are handled through school committees and that parent academies and district resources are being used to help families set boundaries and understand the risks and benefits of phones and social media. No votes were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• And in 2014 and 2015, I had the honor of serving as the president of the National Association of State
• the president of the National the president of the National Association<00:07:14.960> of<
• In many times, these code sections hadn't been touched in several decades.
• In many times, these code sections hadn't been touched in several decades.
• And so we are taking, I think it's 2.6 million lines of code, have to be refactored.

Keywords: Appropriations - Room 216, 24 February, 2026; 1:30 PM, 925, all

Summary: Legislative leaders opened the hearing by focusing on statewide technology issues affecting agencies, including rising IT costs, cloud migration, cybersecurity risks, procurement delays, and the need for better coordination across government systems. They said the meeting was intended to hear from agency directors about current challenges and possible legislative solutions. The ITS director described the state’s IT structure as decentralized but increasingly moving toward shared services. He highlighted recent legislative and executive actions on cloud computing, artificial intelligence, procurement modernization, and data sharing, including House Bill 1491, Senate Bill 2426, Senate Bill 2267, House Bill 958, and an executive order on AI. He said ITS has worked with large agencies on a cloud center of excellence, a procurement modernization advisory council, and a state data exchange, and noted plans for a master contract, potentially with OpenAI, that could be available to all public entities. He also emphasized cybersecurity, saying the state is seeking a secure operations center and a broader “cyber maturity” approach after recent incidents. On procurement, he said the goal is to speed up purchasing while keeping it safe, and on optimization he pointed to potential savings from consolidating duplicate agreements, such as multiple Microsoft enterprise contracts. In response to questions, he said exceptions to centralization would be based on business and technical architecture and regulatory requirements such as HIPAA, CISA, or FERPA, rather than ad hoc decisions.

Transcript Highlights:

• Do you collect the registration fees for electric vehicles? The agency...
• our registration fee for electric vehicles. Is that right?
• The fee for an electric vehicle is $200, that was determined.
• It's one of the highest utilization rates in the nation.
• This is much higher than the national average.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• are always active, and then there are others that are only periodically active due to generally a national
• 06:06.400> a periodically active due to generally a periodically active due to generally a national
• 06.960> recession<00:06:07.840> or<00:06:08.199> kind<00:06:08.319> of national
• recession or kind of national recession or kind of significant<00:06:09.120> issues<00:06:09.599
• Trend and you know I think this National Trend and you know I think one<00:17:43.880> piece<00

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• As you know, we are dead last in per capita funding in the entire nation.
• A corporation made up of seven rural electric cooperatives and... seven rural electric cooperatives and
• one generation transmission electric cooperative.

Keywords: 924, joint, all

Transcript Highlights:

• To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under
• Cannabis is US federal code language.
• Growing medium, electricity for lights — all those are costs.
• Growing medium, electricity for lights — all those are costs.
• 56.640> lights, Growing medium, electricity for lights, Growing medium, electricity for lights

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• In safety code, this is referred to as a warrantless arrest. But what is the arrest for?
• In the nation, vaccines have become a political statement? From all sides, yes. OK.
• We have people coming from Midland, Ector County, Odessa, and 14 other zip codes.
• At Dollar Four, we've built a national database of hospital charity care policies.
• Texas was the first state in the nation to create midwifery laws and we thank you.

Bills: HB3772, HB1656, HB4504, HB1896, HB4420, HB4421, HB4076, HB3708, HB2806, HB3540, HB1586, HB5459, HB4553, HB4535, HB3811, HB3749, HB4255, HB4051, HB5098, HB3554, HB4539, HB5274

Keywords: e-cigarettes, health and safety, regulations, directory, penalties, regulation, certification, compliance, manufacturers, FDA, nicotine, mental health, emergency detention, paramedic authority, mental illness, healthcare facility, public health, covenants not to compete, health care practitioners, physicians

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm the state director for the National Federation of Independent Business in Minnesota. employees or
• state director for the National state director for the National Federation<00:04:51.440> of
• I am the director of membership and government affairs for the Electrical Association.
• The Electrical Association is a trade organization of over 250 electrical contractors located throughout
• electrical workforce. electrical workforce.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• We are the donor nation. We are the donor state to this nation.
• In fact, there— We are the donor nation, we are the donor state to this nation.
• having from national policies, national dialogues are doing, and the interest for people to be able
• Birthright citizenship is a form of the national promise of equality.
• And first of all, this nation is home to Native Americans.

Summary: The Assembly met after a quorum call, prayer, and Pledge of Allegiance, then moved through a long Daily File with several guest introductions and floor speeches. Members recognized visiting student leaders, championship football teams from Tuolumne County, Alpha Kappa Alpha members at their Capitol day, and later a descendant of Wong Kim Ark. The chamber also adopted a procedural motion allowing certain members to host guests in the rear of the chamber. Among the major policy items, AB 578 on food delivery platform refund practices passed 47-2, AB 344 on successor beer manufacturer definitions passed 61-0, AB 454 to make California’s migratory bird protections permanent passed 55-12 on the urgency clause, AB 482 updating the Table Grape Commission passed 64-1, AB 1237 to support transit access for 2026 FIFA World Cup ticket holders passed 56-15 on the urgency clause, AB 738 on wildfire rebuild solar exemptions passed 42-2, AB 1460 on 340B pharmacy access for clinics passed 41-5, AB 750 on homeless shelter oversight passed 49-1, AB 1061 on housing in historic districts passed 41-13, AB 1523 on expanding mandatory mediation thresholds passed 65-0, and AB 316 on AI-related civil liability passed 56-0. AB 761 authorizing the Monterey-Salinas Transit District to seek a sales tax ballot measure passed 47-12. The chamber also adopted several resolutions. AJR 3 urging protection of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid passed 53-2 after extensive debate that included criticism of federal cuts and counterarguments focused on state Medi-Cal policy and budget decisions. ACR 65 proclaiming California Tourism Month was adopted by voice vote after coauthors were added, and ACR 62 recognizing California Nonprofits Day was also adopted by voice vote with 65 coauthors. AJR 5 affirming birthright citizenship and opposing efforts to end it passed 58-1 after a lengthy, highly partisan debate centered on the 14th Amendment and the Wong Kim Ark precedent. The session also included passage of AB 571, a CEQA exemption for the Southern California Veterans Cemetery at Gypsum Canyon, which was presented as a long-running bipartisan effort to create a final resting place for Orange County veterans.

Transcript Highlights:

• generic, so it's electric generating.
• generic, so it's electric generating.
• generic, so it's electric generating.
• generic, so it's electric generating.
• generic, so it's electric generating.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee heard a presentation from the Department of Environmental Services on proposed changes in House Bill 2 and related technical changes in House Bill 1 tied to the governor’s permitting realignment initiative. The proposal would move environmental review staff from Fish and Game and DNCR to DES to create a more centralized “one-stop shop” for applicants needing DES permits, especially for wildlife and natural heritage reviews. DES said the goal is to speed permitting, support a 60-day review clock, and improve coordination among agencies while keeping the substantive review work in place. Members asked about staffing impacts, the scope of the transferred duties, and whether the change would create redundancy or weaken the other agencies. DES said most of the affected staff work primarily on these reviews, though Fish and Game staff also handle other state and federal reviews, which is why the proposal was adjusted to keep one of the four Fish and Game positions there and move three to DES, along with two positions from DNCR. DES also described a new supervisory position in HB 2 to manage the transferred staff within its land resources bureau. Officials said the reviews would still be done by specialists, but under DES supervision, and that the agencies would continue to coordinate recommendations on species impacts and mitigation. The committee also discussed fee increases intended to offset costs, including a 50% increase in wetlands fees and a 100% increase in alteration-of-terrain fees, with the department saying the changes would cover the new positions. Members raised concerns about impacts on private homeowners, possible incentives to work without permits, and whether fines should be used more as a revenue source or for mitigation. DES said wetlands permits are roughly split between homeowner-related and commercial projects, that permit-by-notification already creates a two-tier structure for smaller projects, and that enforcement relies partly on public complaints and online permitting systems. The department also said most fines currently go to the general fund and vary widely year to year, with about $75,000 budgeted, and that the proposal would also create permit-by-notification authority for alteration-of-terrain projects between 100,000 and 150,000 square feet, mirroring language in Senate Bill 110. No vote or final committee action was taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• too who joined um both in person nation too who joined um both in person and<00:18:20.960> online
• <00:19:15.440> fire subsequently damaged by electrical fire subsequently damaged by electrical
• The Social Security Administration had sent a portion of the back pay to that large national law firm
• bill or the paper clips or the electric bill or the paper clips or the other<00:30:45.600> things
• Typically, national healthcare staffing companies are hub-based.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The subcommittee heard presentations from the Legal Aid Network of Kentucky, including Legal Aid of the Bluegrass, Kentucky Legal Aid, AppalRed Legal Aid, and the Legal Aid Society in Louisville. The presenters explained that the four nonprofit programs provide civil legal services in all 120 counties, focusing on low-income clients and matters such as domestic violence, family law, housing, expungement, public benefits, and veterans’ issues. They emphasized that they do not handle criminal defense cases and described statewide efforts such as the kyjustice.org website and Project Renew, which helps people in recovery with legal issues that affect stability, employment, housing, and family reunification. Each organization highlighted regional service challenges and examples of casework. Legal Aid of the Bluegrass described its 33-county service area, its mobile “justice bus,” and expungement work for people in recovery. Kentucky Legal Aid focused on disaster response after the December 2021 tornadoes, including insurance disputes and contractor fraud, and said it has continued to handle repeated FEMA-declared disasters. AppalRed described serving 37 rural counties with limited attorneys, the shortage of lawyers in “rural legal deserts,” and its disaster-response work after flooding and tornadoes, including FEMA appeals clinics and volunteer attorney support. The Legal Aid Society described its Louisville-area veteran services, including Social Security and VA disability cases, veterans treatment court referrals, and homeless outreach. Committee members praised the organizations’ work and noted the importance of their services. In response to questions about funding, the presenters said their support comes from a mix of Legal Services Corporation funds, state appropriations, federal grants such as VOCA, VAWA, and HUD, United Way, and foundation funding. They stressed that many grants are restricted, while state funding is more flexible and useful for emergencies and day-to-day operations. The presenters said current funding does not fully meet demand and requested an increase in the General Assembly’s appropriation from $500,000 per year to $1 million per year, or $2 million over the biennium.

Transcript Highlights:

• ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS A GENERAL PURPOSE TECHNOLOGY MUCH LIKE ELECTRICITY.
• THE RIGHT TRAINING PATHWAYS WE CAN ENSURE THAT EVERY WORKER IN FLORIDA AND EVERY WORKER ACROSS THE NATION
• >> IT MEANS ALL UTILITIES ARE IN AND THE ROADS ARE IN AND YOUR INFRASTRUCTURE IS IN AND YOUR ELECTRICITY
• THERE IS A LOT OF ELECTRICITY RUNNING.
• AND THAT IS PROBABLY NATIONALLY ONE OF THE GREAT INHIBITORS TO MANUFACTURERS MOVING TO ANY OTHER STATE

Transcript Highlights:

• He's been there so long, and he's like nationally acclaimed. So, it's a pretty cool experience.
• an ongoing dilemma about how Wyoming has some of the highest per capita health care costs in the nation
• base, we got utilities got dunked 11% and then they charged us 10% more from our providers for electricity
• So, I don't have the funding model down enough to break that code, but I'll try to get information to

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• the Comptroller General's Office, the State Treasurer's Office, and the South Carolina Procurement Code
• This report is updated on a weekly basis to track our electric and gas consumption.
• One of our offices, for example, in Richland County, actually created a brochure with a QR code that
• RSA at that time changed the coding for our reporting and cleaned up the data.
• If you look at the brochure on the right, it's my right, yes, we have a QR code.

Keywords: 977, all

Summary: The committee met to receive a detailed financial operations presentation from the South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agency, with staff walking members through funding sources, budgeting, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and grants management. Sabrina Walker explained VR’s blended funding structure, including federal grants, state appropriations, program income, and interagency contracts, and emphasized that state funds are essential to meeting the federal match and maintenance-of-effort requirements. Members asked repeatedly about transparency, audit controls, and the risk that state cuts could reduce federal drawdowns; staff responded that all reports reconcile back to the SCEIS accounting system, are subject to state audits and internal reviews, and that even modest state reductions could significantly reduce total available funding. The committee also discussed pre-employment transition services for students with disabilities, with staff confirming services are offered through school districts, charters, and private schools, and that contracts are monitored for performance and compliance. The presentation then shifted to budgeting and internal controls. Walker described a zero-based departmental budgeting process, monthly monitoring reports, contingency reserves for unexpected expenses, and a formal annual cycle that culminates in board approval. Members asked about facilities tracking, culture, and how the agency maintains accountability; staff said facilities staff inspect buildings and equipment, supervisors justify line-item requests, and the process has become smoother over time as departments learned the system. Cynthia Johnson followed with an accounts receivable overview, describing invoicing, receipting, aging, customer verification, year-end reporting, and the use of cross-training, shared email inboxes, and spreadsheets as checks and balances. She also explained work training center billing, interdepartmental transfers, and the revolving fund used to issue consumer checks more quickly than standard vendor payments. Olivia Perez presented accounts payable operations, including invoice processing through SCEIS and OnBase, the three-way match, travel reimbursements, revolving fund checks, State Treasury Office interactions, and handling of reversals, rejections, and levy notices. She reported that AP processed 67,723 SCEIS payments, 13,670 case management system invoices, 3,379 travel reimbursements, and 15,693 revolving fund checks in fiscal year 2025, with only 70 payment rejections. The final portion of the meeting covered Grants and Funds Management, where Walker explained federal reporting, drawdowns, payroll allocation, asset tracking, lease and IT contract reviews, cost allocation, and closing packages. She noted upcoming system changes such as S/4HANA, Workiva, and SC Pro, but said the agency is receiving training and feedback opportunities. No formal votes or legislative actions were taken during the presentation portion beyond approval of the prior minutes and a brief recess.

Transcript Highlights:

• allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic that it represents, one nation
• By the way, January is National Mentoring Month for Big Brothers Big Sisters, and so if you'd like to
• They are engaged in Santa Fe High's United Nations program and learning about government.
• The National Teacher of the Year program is the oldest and most prestigious national honors program in
• As soon as Nancy came out, you could feel the electricity from the kids.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• What about, like, the Liliha tenant code line that you have? Nobody answers the phone.
• So the Oahu number has the message: this is landlord-tenant code.
• <00:15:01.120> so message this is landlord tenant code so message this is landlord tenant
• code so and<00:15:01.959> then<00:15:02.160> when<00:15:02.360> you<00:15:02.639
• <01:20:10.239> standing whole new section to the code standing whole new section to the code

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Ways and Means and Commerce and Consumer Protection heard the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs present its biennium budget request for fiscal years 2025 to 2027. Director Nainoa Ando said the department’s requests were primarily special-fund ceiling increases to meet operational needs. Major items included an additional $12 million to complete the King Kamehameha V Post Office building roof project after hidden deterioration and water intrusion were discovered, plus funding related to fringe benefits and central services assessments. The department also outlined requests for a new medical compact implementation cost, an auditor position, an engineer position, and a captive insurance IT modernization project. A significant portion of the discussion focused on the Office of Consumer Protection’s landlord-tenant call line and public service access. Senators raised concerns that callers often reach voicemail, are told to leave a message, and sometimes are referred to look up the law themselves. DCCA said the Oʻahu line is staffed by one full-time employee backed by two to three investigators, with one investigator each on Maui and Hawaiʻi Island, and that calls are tracked in a case management system. The department said it plans to add one more Oʻahu staff position through a transfer from another division and that a new call-center/web system with time tracking is expected to go live in the summer. Members also discussed a possible bill related to Pearson VUE nursing certification testing, with one senator describing the burden on neighbor-island nursing graduates who must travel to Honolulu for a one-hour test. The senator said she intended to introduce legislation after receiving no response to repeated outreach. DCCA did not take action on that proposal during the hearing. For the PUC-related requests, the department explained a one-time $1 million request for outside consulting tied to Maui wildfire-related filings, including wildfire safety mitigation and hazard mitigation plans, and a separate $900,000 request through the Consumer Advocacy Division to hire consultants for review and analysis. The committee also discussed a captive insurance IT modernization request, which DCCA said would replace manual and spreadsheet-based processes with a cloud-based system to better handle filings, payments, and workflow; no vote or final action was taken on the budget items during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation
• Considering this medal, is it going to be worn on the Class A uniform of the National Guard?
• National Guard? National Guard?
• I know luckily there with us in Pembroke, we were without electricity for almost two weeks because of
• for almost 2 were without electricity for almost 2 weeks weeks weeks because<00:36:23.880> of

Keywords: 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• and what the fire code requires.
• the fire code and what the fire code the fire code and what the fire code requires.<04:24:32.720
• or closed in place which the fire code or closed in place which the fire code offers<04:26:16.800
• He said he would have to check the fire code on that and that he is not a fire code expert.
• I that and I'm not a fire code expert.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under
• Resolutions filed by Representative Lombardo of Billerica and other members of the House, recognizing Elks National
• families around trying to find affordable housing, childcare, health care, pay groceries, pay gas and electric
• the care and control of DCR, and an additional $200 million for the MBTA for the procurement of electrically

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The House received a Governor’s message on fiscal year 2026 supplemental appropriations, which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means. The Committee on Rules reported several resolutions, including honors for Abby Goodman, a resolution reaffirming Massachusetts-Taiwan friendship, recognition of the Cambodian-American community’s Khmer New Year celebration, and Elks National Youth Week; the House suspended the rules and approved them. The House also concurred with Senate petitions on assisted living residences and medication administration in rest homes, sending them to the Committee on Aging and Independence. The main legislative business was House Bill 5279/5375, the transportation bond bill financing long-term improvements to municipal roads and bridges. Ways and Means recommended a substitute bill, House 5375, with a $2.737 billion general obligation bond authorization, and the House adopted the amendment and ordered the bill to a third reading. Later, the House took up House 5375 directly, heard support from members emphasizing Chapter 90 road funding, municipal flexibility, rural road mileage distribution, and broader transportation investments, and then passed the bill to be engrossed by roll call vote, 155-0. The House also passed House Bill 5371, authorizing grants of easements or takings of certain parcels of land to the city of Boston, to be engrossed. In addition, the chamber received and filed the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s report on the March 31, 2026 special election for the 5th Essex District, adopted an order to escort the Governor and Executive Council into the chamber, and administered the oaths of office to Representative-elect Andrew Tarr. The session ended with an order to adjourn until the next day at 11 a.m. in informal session.

Transcript Highlights:

• If we're talking about food insecurity, Arkansas leads the nation in many of those areas, which is shocking
• So the business network in a national group that I was part of when I was over in United Arab Emirates
• We can also use 110-volt energy system or electrical system to produce the same energy.
• And you're going to use thousands of gallons of water to try to get there in electricity.
• Thousands of gallons of water to try to get there in electricity.

Summary: The committee approved the minutes from its October 27 meeting and then heard testimony on the economic and regulatory effects of Arkansas’s raw milk law, Act 698. Clinton Ballard of Milk and Honey Hill Farm said the law helped his family farm expand from 8 to 12 cows and from serving about 75 families to about 150, increasing sales by roughly $50,000 and allowing about $10,000 in raw cheese sales through retail outlets. He argued the law supports small-farm income, food security, and local processing, but said state health agencies still do not inspect raw milk producers unless they sell to a commercial buyer, which he said limits access to USDA grants and other opportunities. He and members discussed safety practices, including rapid chilling, sick-animal removal, sanitation, customer education, and whether any optional state certification or inspection program should be created without adding burdensome regulation. Members asked about herd management, bee production, market channels, and whether raw milk producers should receive training or certification. Ballard said his farm uses Jerseys, removes sick cows from production, sells on-farm and through retail locations, and relies on best-practice guidance from groups such as the Weston A. Price Foundation and the Raw Milk Institute. Several members expressed support for consumer choice but also raised concerns about food safety, especially for children and pregnant women, and about possible “mission creep” if the state creates a voluntary inspection or training system. The discussion ended without any vote or formal action on the raw milk issue. The committee then heard a lengthy presentation from Terrence Bolden of TLB Enterprises on hydroponic and container-based farming as a response to food insecurity, food deserts, and workforce needs. Bolden described a three-year career and technical education model using retrofitted shipping containers to grow food year-round with low water and energy use, paired with training in drones, robotics, agribusiness, and entrepreneurship. He said pilot projects are underway or planned with UAPB, the Little Rock School District, and other partners, and projected that five regional hubs could create significant economic impact and multiple jobs per container. Members asked about costs, target communities, school partnerships, food desert locations, and whether the model could include aquaponics or protein production; Bolden said the program is intended as a public-private partnership and that the committee could tour a container site once it is operational. The meeting adjourned after the presentation and questions.