Transcript Highlights:

• And then they also take Making Connections, which is a university-wide course.
• My favorite thing is actually the connections I’ve built and the long-term friendships I build, like
• It helped me make connections a long way, and it helps me also learn a way around my college life and
• So, yes, great connection with a lot of employers.
• And we emphasize access, connectiveness, and voluntary participation.

Summary: The committee first approved the minutes from November 17 by motion and voice vote. It then heard a presentation from Arkansas State University on its inclusive postsecondary education programs, HOWL and ATLAS, led by Dr. Kristen Johnson and Shane Broadway. The programs serve students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including autism, by providing on-campus living, academic support, life-skills training, financial literacy, internships, employment support, and community integration. Johnson explained that HOWL is a comprehensive transition program that does not lead to a degree but is eligible for financial aid, while ATLAS is degree-seeking and provides additional supports. She reported strong outcomes, including high goal attainment and a majority of graduates working full time, and emphasized that the programs are designed to help students build autonomous adult lives. Members asked about recruitment, eligibility, costs, school outreach, business partnerships, and transition planning. Johnson said the programs have done extensive outreach through IEP meetings, transition symposia, email blasts, and school visits, but that awareness remains a challenge. She identified major roadblocks as business concerns about liability, fragmented collaboration, and difficulty navigating funding streams such as vocational rehabilitation and Medicaid. She also said more coordinated statewide communication and coalition-building are needed, and noted that ASU is helping launch a state alliance for similar programs, with new programs opening at ASU Mountain Home and the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff. The committee then heard from the University of Central Arkansas about Project Ascend, a new low-sensory living-learning community for neurodiverse students in Hughes Hall. Dr. Debbie Daly and Jeremy Gillum described it as a voluntary, self-identified program focused on community building, belonging, and retention rather than remediation or degree planning. The program has hosted a few low-sensory social events and plans to expand outreach through campus tours, orientation, and targeted communications. Members asked about recruitment, participation, success measures, and how to avoid duplicating ASU’s efforts; UCA said it is still in its infancy and will measure success mainly through participation, retention, and student engagement. The meeting ended with general support from members, discussion of collaboration across institutions and agencies, and adjournment of the task force.

Transcript Highlights:

• We are accredited, highly trained, and deeply connected to the communities we serve, providing not only
• claims assistance but wraparound support that includes mental health resources, housing connections,
• Wilson, United States Army veteran, airborne paratrooper, and 100% service-connected veteran as well,
• As a father, the process of navigating my son, Danny, his disability status to 100% service-connected
• The right way, the right path, is connecting them to their direct benefits.

Summary: The Assembly Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs met with a quorum and first approved its consent calendar, which included AJR 15, SB 56, SB 296, and SB 855, with the roll left open for absent members. The committee then heard SB 694 by Senator Archuleta, a bill aimed at protecting veterans from unaccredited claims representatives and other for-profit entities that charge fees to assist with VA disability claims. The author and supporters, including county veterans service officers and veterans organizations, argued the measure would curb predatory practices, restore accountability, and steer veterans toward free, accredited assistance through CVSOs and other authorized representatives. Testimony in support emphasized that veterans are often targeted online and may pay large fees for services that are available for free, while supporters said unaccredited firms lack transparency and can exploit vulnerable veterans. Opposition witnesses, including representatives of claims-assistance companies and individual veterans, argued the bill would eliminate choice and that some contingency-based firms provide useful services, better outcomes, and faster claims processing. Committee members debated whether the bill would unlawfully bar legitimate assistance or whether it was needed to stop illegal business practices, with several members noting the issue is also being litigated in federal court and that an accreditation process already exists through the VA. After discussion, the committee voted to pass SB 694 and refer it to the Committee on Judiciary. The final vote was 6 ayes, with some members not voting. The committee then completed the consent calendar vote, which passed with eight votes, and adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• WE CAN CONNECT THOSE MODELS TO THOSE FAMILIES.
• WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK AHEAD OF US TO DO IN WE CAN CONNECT THOSE MODELS TO THOSE FAMILIES.
• MAKING SURE THEY ARE CONNECTED WITH THE RESOURCES AND SERVICES.
• AS WELL AS THE POSITIVE CONNECT AND STABLE AND FULFILLING EMPLOYMENT.
• CONNECTION BEFORE CORRECTION ENFORCING BUILDING TRUST AND RAPPORT.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They're not wired; there's no wire connection, no wireless, no Bluetooth.
• If the connection the paper pole book.
• > between<01:12:37.040> those There is no connection between those There is no connection
• Secure software: no internet again or internal office network connectivity.
• internal office network connectivity. internal office network connectivity.

Keywords: Discussion of BR 25 (2026 RS) 04:15 Presentation on voting systems by ES&S 48:14 Presentation on voting systems by Hart InterCivic and Harp Enterprises 01:13:07, 958, all

Summary: The committee met, approved the October 21 minutes, and then took up BR 25 for the 2026 regular session, a proposal to prohibit the use of tax dollars and public resources to advocate for or against ballot questions, including constitutional amendments. Senator Rawlings and the other presenters argued the current law already bars such advocacy but lacks meaningful enforcement, citing the 2024 school choice amendment campaign and other examples where public officials and school systems allegedly used taxpayer-funded resources to influence voters. They said the bill would add civil and criminal penalties, while preserving First Amendment rights for public employees acting in their personal capacities. Much of the discussion focused on whether the bill should be limited to school districts or broadened to cover other public entities, and on how to define terms such as “advocating in impartial terms.” Members raised concerns about possible effects on county and city lobbying through groups like KLC and KCO, on legitimate factual explanations by public officials, and on whether the bill could unintentionally restrict needed representation for local governments. The sponsors said the measure was intended to be narrow, would be vetted further, and would not bar individuals from speaking on their own behalf. Several members suggested revisions. Representative Lockett asked that schools and school employees be specifically named, and suggested separating the lobbying restrictions from the ballot-measure provisions into different bills. Representative Layman questioned the meaning of the bill’s language and whether it would cover factual testimony by officials. Representative Heen asked about a Jefferson County example involving legal fees used to challenge petition signatures; counsel said that situation would likely be allowable under the bill as drafted, though some members thought it should be covered. No final vote was taken on BR 25 during this discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• We need a statewide system that supports business growth, strengthens supply chains, and connects us
• We connect industry partners with government, So how do we do it?
• We connect industry partners with government and communities to move projects forward.
• We identify gaps in Utah's logistics system and work to close them with rail connections, intermodal
• that have been made because of that direct connection.

Keywords: 985, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So we are the entity that will really be connecting folks with the services they need.
• We also connect families with resources and supports.
• We can definitely connect people. There have been a couple of success stories.
• Sort of interventions that have happened, and we are able to connect women.
• It connects with several things, but I'm here, first of all, just to let you know.

Transcript Highlights:

• We'll work closely in connection with you with those.
• Go over University to connect directly to a potential partner on that corner.
• And you can kind of see how those two things are connected.
• Two, do I have a family connection? And three, do I have a connection to the community?
• The battery backup system will be purchased and connected to the campus generator.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It's about having a high in-state answer rate, which helps us connect people to appropriate resources
• Yeah, this is also a great networking opportunity to connect everybody, and thank the three of you so
• A couple of questions: What are the protocols for how 988 connects people to local behavioral health
• So the idea is isolation and how do we provide that connection, but also provide referrals.
• We're trying to connect people to resources, and a lot of it is providing that education.

Summary: The hearing focused on California’s 988 suicide and crisis lifeline and the broader crisis response system, with members and witnesses emphasizing both the system’s life-saving role and the risks posed by funding gaps, rising demand, and uneven local implementation. Opening remarks highlighted the personal impact of suicide and the need to strengthen crisis response so calls are answered quickly and linked to appropriate care rather than defaulting to 911, emergency rooms, or law enforcement. State officials described the AB 988 five-year implementation plan, which sets goals around public awareness, equitable access, high-quality call/chat/text response, and better integration with ongoing behavioral health services. State agencies reported progress on infrastructure, coordination, and related behavioral health investments. CalHHS said California has expanded mobile crisis teams, crisis stabilization units, and youth behavioral health supports, and is preparing additional public awareness and grant programs tied to Proposition 1. DHCS explained that 988 is funded through a federal SAMHSA grant and the AB 988 surcharge, while Medi-Cal separately funds mobile crisis services; officials said the mobile crisis benefit is active in 53 counties and that statewide expansion remains a work in progress. Cal OES described the statewide technical buildout, including network infrastructure in all 11 crisis centers, interoperability with 911, and a pilot of next-generation routing and call-handling tools. The 988 California Consortium said call volume continues to rise sharply, missed calls remain a major concern, text/chat capacity is limited, and centers need more stable funding, better reimbursement, and stronger feedback loops with the state. County and community witnesses stressed that local systems need more flexible, sustained support to match the demand. Lake County described a peer-led rural mobile crisis model that has reduced law enforcement holds and increased housing placements, but said county-run mobile crisis teams still cannot reliably access 988 surcharge dollars and face reimbursement problems from Medi-Cal and commercial plans. Santa Clara County reported strong performance metrics, rapid call answer times, and a broad continuum of mobile crisis services, but said staffing and funding are strained and commercial reimbursement remains slow. The Mental Health Association of San Francisco said the peer-run warm line complements 988 by offering non-emergency support and warm handoffs, but recent budget changes forced cuts to Spanish-language service, federation support, and hours. No formal votes or legislative actions were taken during the hearing; members mainly asked questions about surcharge levels, budget timing, coordination among agencies, data collection, and how to improve collaboration with frontline crisis centers.

Transcript Highlights:

• <01:37:58.320> are alone at school, real connections are alone at school, real connections
• And there's no connectivity classroom.
• screens are up, they're not connecting. screens are up, they're not connecting.
• We need real connections.
• This, this is necessary for connections.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And we’re connected. Again, that 53-county network, we’re all over the state.
• How does Sanford Research get connected to NDSU? And I'll make the case: we're very well connected.
• Campuses communicate their own achievements without connecting to the system.
• I've mentioned that already, but the employer connection must be built before graduation.
• Thank you. ...those connections are really clear in the qualitative data.

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• You'll see that really common with Community Eds, especially in outstate, being that driver, that connecting
• We're all about the lifelong learning, and you are right on that connection point, especially since COVID
• um and given him a sense of connections um and given him a sense of belonging<01:14:10.040> overall
• Families report feeling more engaged and connected to the school community, strengthening partnerships
• to the school Community connected to the school Community strengthening<01:19:45.520> Partnerships

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• connected state.
• to make us a 100% connected state.
• it and another one was $25,000 to connect it.
• Subsequently, I found out that some locations to connect to them were $50,000 to connect to.
• Of the system, or the history of the current system, Connect ND.

Summary: The Information Technology Committee approved the March 26 minutes and received a series of reports from NDIT on major IT projects, the annual report, mainframe modernization, and cybersecurity services. The project portfolio was reported at 116 major projects with a baseline cost of $546 million, overall under budget but modestly behind schedule. Several projects that had been in variance status last quarter were said to have closed, including HHS bed management, vital records modernization, and DOT roadway capital planning. New startup reports were mostly HHS efforts tied to refugee data management, technical debt cleanup, and legacy application decommissioning, while closeouts included HHS, OMB, DPI, and DOT projects with mixed budget and schedule results. In the annual report discussion, NDIT described its service-fund financials, peer-state rate comparisons, records management reporting, and customer satisfaction efforts. Members asked about how revenues and grants flow through the service fund, how NDIT charges agencies for services, and whether customer satisfaction or CSAT scores are tracked and could be reported more regularly. NDIT said it does track service-team CSAT and survey data, and committee members encouraged more regular reporting of those metrics. The committee also discussed application portfolio management, statewide IT planning, and whether agencies should slow new system replacements while the state pursues an ERP system. The mainframe update focused on the state’s ongoing effort to retire legacy systems by about 2030. NDIT and HHS said the work is being managed as a tech-debt program, but progress is slowed by data cleanup, integration complexity, staff retirements, vendor capacity, and federal requirements. Members asked whether there is a coordinated commitment and whether additional vendor support or consultants are needed; NDIT said it is working jointly with HHS and is seeking an RFP to help accelerate modernization. The cybersecurity presentation then shifted to statewide maturity assessments and services. NDIT said it provides endpoint protection, vulnerability scanning, security awareness training, threat briefings, and penetration testing, and that assessments are based on CIS controls. Members raised concerns about low participation in the self-assessment process, the lack of mandatory reporting or audit authority, and whether insurance incentives through Enderf or possible State Auditor involvement could improve compliance. No formal votes were taken beyond approval of the minutes.

Transcript Highlights:

• Every missed handoff, every eligibility lapse, every discharge without real connection to ongoing care
• and stay connected to the medication, services, and supports they need to live their best lives.
• , face-to-face connection.
• And with these programs, over 5,000 people have been connected—families and youth have been connected
• It has to be connected to an actual clinical response.

Summary: The hearing focused first on behavioral health, especially serious mental illness and anosognosia, a condition described by witnesses as a neurological symptom that prevents people from recognizing they are ill. The chair framed the issue around families cycling through emergency rooms, jails, conservatorships, and short-term stabilization without lasting treatment, and warned that federal changes under H.R. 1 could reduce Medi-Cal funding and worsen access. Dawn Marie Anderson gave a personal account of her son’s long history of psychosis, homelessness, arrests, repeated jail and state hospital stays, and eventual stability when he received sustained medication and coordinated support. She argued that the system often treats the problem as criminal rather than medical and that voluntary programs and short-term services are not enough for people who lack insight into their illness. Other panelists, including representatives from the California Behavioral Health Association, Santa Barbara County Behavioral Health, and the County Behavioral Health Directors Association, agreed that anosognosia is not denial or noncompliance and said the system needs long-term, coordinated care, including assertive community treatment, mobile crisis, supportive housing, medication support, and stronger handoffs between county and managed care systems. They said CalAIM and other reforms have improved some coordination, but significant gaps remain, especially for people with serious mental illness, for those in jail or locked settings, and for people with private insurance, which witnesses said often offers little meaningful coverage for early psychosis or intensive behavioral health services. Several witnesses urged the Legislature to protect Medi-Cal, shore up county safety-net services, and invest in training and family engagement. The committee then turned to the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative, with a focus on the virtual services platforms BrightLife Kids and Soluna and the CYBHI fee schedule. DHCS reported strong growth in app registrations, coaching sessions, referrals, and positive user outcomes, saying the platforms provide free, culturally responsive, early-intervention support statewide and help connect users to higher levels of care when needed. On the fee schedule, DHCS said more than 500 LEAs, colleges, universities, and school-linked providers are participating, 181 LEAs have submitted claims, and $9.6 million has been reimbursed to date, with 41,556 students represented in claims. The chair and several members criticized the pace of implementation and the amount of money spent relative to reimbursement levels, saying the Legislature had requested data earlier and that the return on investment still appeared low. DHCS responded that many claims are still being submitted, that 70% of denials are correctable, that $400 million in capacity grants has been distributed locally, and that reimbursement is increasing rapidly as more districts come online. Public comment included a rural county behavioral health director who said private insurance denials leave counties with significant uncompensated work, especially for unlicensed staff providing case management and mobile crisis services.

Transcript Highlights:

• and support that are both systematized inside of the schools, as well as how we forge stronger connections
• and support that are both systematized inside of the schools, as well as how we forge stronger connections
• And it is one of the core design elements of how we work, actually, is connecting our districts with
• of how we work, actually, is connecting of how we work, actually, is connecting our<00:18:46.440
• <00:19:39.200> for where the dots are almost connecting for where the dots are almost connecting

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Core Plus and CTE can be defined in the same definitions you all pass for Career Connect learning.
• We'd love to even make connections with your school programs.
• If you're wondering where some of the programs are in your area, happy to make those connections and
• We'd love to even make connections with your school programs.
• If you're wondering where some of the programs are in your area, happy to make those connections and

Summary: The House Education Committee received status updates on career and technical education (CTE), including OSPI’s work under 2024 legislation on allied health pathways and a statewide CTE task force, an update from Core Plus Maritime, and findings from an Education Northwest longitudinal study of Washington CTE access and outcomes. OSPI described development of allied health guidance such as a home care aide to nursing assistant bridge, model curricula, updated course equivalency frameworks, and coordination with health agencies and employers. It also reviewed Core Plus framework work, task force expansion under later legislation, and the timeline for recommendations due in November 2026. Committee members asked about health profession outreach, equitable access for rural districts, data updates, and employer support for local programs; OSPI said it continues to work with agency and industry partners and that local labor-market alignment varies by region. Core Plus Maritime presenters described expanding maritime career exploration into middle school through low-cost ROV curriculum, student visits to ferries and vessels, Sea Scouts partnerships, and ship-based safety and welding experiences. Industry representatives from the Northwest Marine Trade Association, American Seafoods, and Vigor Marine Group emphasized the maritime sector’s economic importance, aging workforce, and need for hands-on training to build the pipeline for family-wage jobs. A teacher from South Kitsap High School said the program gives students a clear pathway and has helped connect them to careers in shipyards, fishing, and related trades. Vigor also noted support for a student welding competition and equipment donations for a Rainier Beach shop. Dr. Sam Riggs of Education Northwest presented a longitudinal study using state data from 2013-14 through 2023-24. The study found CTE access has been relatively steady statewide, but offerings vary by school size, locale, and income, with rural and lower-income schools generally offering fewer pathways. Participation is high: nearly all students earn at least some CTE credit, and more students are accumulating multiple credits over time, though fewer go deep within a single pathway. Students who earned more CTE credits, especially within pathways such as agriculture, manufacturing, transportation, and construction, were more likely to graduate on time and later had stronger postsecondary certificate attainment and earnings. Riggs recommended addressing local barriers to participation, considering whether the CTE graduation requirement should better encourage depth while preserving flexibility, and aligning offerings more closely with labor-market needs. Committee members asked about COVID-era trends, student motivation, early workforce entry, delivery settings such as skill centers, and how to interpret the comparison groups used in the analysis.

Transcript Highlights:

• I think it changed juvenile community corrections to juvenile community connections and had to do with
• What we're trying to do with that is match it with kind of the same process that Fostering Connection
• Can you connect me to this? Can you help me with this?
• So we wanted to match up the language of community connections because, since it is a service-related
• There is associated with House Bill 225 and the Juvenile Community Connections Act, as we hope it will

Transcript Highlights:

• We explain to them what they need to do if it is truly service-connected and related to their military
• Our CVSOs help with the initial VA claims, but they also connect veterans— and 'connect' is a key word
• They connect. veterans with a wide variety of services available at the state and federal levels.
• the dots, whereas a civilian doctor may not be able to connect the dots.
• I did a, what's called a... non-service-connected pension.

Transcript Highlights:

• One of those veterans is Eric Golnick, who will testify today about waiting more than a year to be connected
• He was connected to a VA...
• Wounded Warrior Project saved his life by getting him connected to care that he desperately needed for
• In my experience, both my wife, who is a veteran and a service-connected disabled veteran, and I have
• We connect to 235 veterans a week through the Fox Grant. That's 235 veterans I can't connect to.

Transcript Highlights:

• So he has the connectivity of New Bedford and Boston and Angelo, Cape Verdean, and us.
• So he has the connectivity of New Bedford and Boston and Angelo, Cape Verdean, and us.
• Sadly, our state institutions, over time, have lost the Cape Verdean connectivity.
• So the commission, the... ...the connectivity to the great work that's happening there.
• She would be the designee of the New Bedford Whaling Museum, and having that connectivity. Dr.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The commission met to advance planning for a proposed Cape Verdean Cultural Center in Massachusetts, with members emphasizing the historical significance of Cape Verdeans in the Commonwealth and the need to complete a feasibility study over the next year. After roll call and introductions of new participants, the commission unanimously approved the prior meeting minutes. Members also reviewed and approved a draft nomination criteria document, with a small edit to explicitly include Cape Cod in the geographic representation language. A substantial portion of the meeting focused on expanding commission membership. Rochelle Barbosa presented criteria aimed at ensuring regional, gender, generational, and sector diversity, along with needed expertise in areas such as history, museums, architecture, fundraising, nonprofit governance, language preservation, legal issues, and community organizing. The commission discussed several organizations and institutions that should have designees, including Bridgewater State’s Cape Verdean studies program, Mili Mila, the Schooner Ernestina Morrissey Advisory Board, and the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Members also reviewed a long list of suggested nominees and identified possible gaps, including legal expertise and representation from Taunton and Cape Cod-area communities. Because the commission had 16 additional nominees for 12 remaining seats, members agreed that more vetting was needed before final appointments. Representative Vieira proposed, and the commission approved, forming a three-member nominating committee consisting of Senator Miranda, Commissioner Monica Vega, and Commissioner Manny Lopes. The committee was tasked with narrowing the list and bringing back recommendations for a vote at a later meeting. Members also discussed scheduling another meeting before the end of the month so appointments could be finalized and the commission could begin its work plan, including monthly meetings, listening sessions, and visits to cultural institutions. The meeting adjourned after those next steps were outlined.

Transcript Highlights:

• CAD connections. CAD connections.
• > Hennepin, Today, they're connected to Hennepin, Today, they're connected to Hennepin, which<
• These<01:47:29.640> connections<01:47:30.120> have<01:47:30.320> proven These connections
• It's a metro-wide connected consequence.
• Uh as a dispatch-to-dispatch connection.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all