Transcript Highlights:

• expenses that exceeds the amount of the federal child care and dependent care credit.
• child care costs.
• Third day sounds great to me.
• And in the system for six days.
• We are providing care for people, or child care for people that cannot afford it, which is a win-win

Summary: The joint House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees met to hear identical Arizona tax conformity bills, HB 2153 and SB 1106, which would conform state tax law to the federal Internal Revenue Code as of Jan. 1, 2026, with some provisions applied retroactively to tax year 2025. Staff explained that the bills exclude the federal senior deduction for those 65 and older, the higher state and local tax deduction, and the new car loan interest deduction, while including a $6,000 retirement-income deduction for taxpayers 60 and older, a $6,000 Roth IRA contribution deduction, a higher dependent tax credit, and a deduction for child and dependent care expenses above the federal credit. The JLBC fiscal note estimated a $441.3 million general fund revenue loss in FY 2026, and members discussed that this was roughly the same as full conformity because the bill’s adjustments offset some of the federal changes. Bill sponsors and supporters argued the measure should be enacted early to give taxpayers and tax preparers certainty before filing season, noting that the Department of Revenue had already issued forms assuming conformity and that delay could force amended returns. They said the bill reflects a negotiated package that preserves most of the federal tax relief while tailoring it for Arizona, especially by lowering the senior deduction age to 60 and replacing the auto loan deduction with family-focused provisions such as the higher child credit and child care deduction. The Arizona Society of CPAs and the Arizona Free Enterprise Club supported the bills, emphasizing the need for early conformity and fewer filing complications. Opponents, including Save Our Schools Arizona, the Arizona Center for Economic Progress, Opportunity Arizona, and several individuals, argued the package would reduce state revenue, worsen the structural deficit, and mainly benefit higher-income taxpayers and corporations. Some witnesses criticized the inclusion of federal school-choice-related provisions and warned about uncertainty around future federal guidance, while others said the bill should not move ahead before the budget process. Members also debated whether taxpayers would need to file amended returns if the state later diverged from the Department of Revenue forms, and whether the senior and child care provisions were targeted or equitable. The transcript ends during public testimony, with no final committee vote or action shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm Jonathan Buxton with the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association.
• I'm not challenging; I'm just asking for better than care.
• Talk all day soon. And on your form? Are they? Are all these on the form?
• I believe it's within 90 days of starting the loan.
• You're my day. That's much enough. We won't meet until Monday, so thank you.

Summary: The committee first took up Senate Bill 20, a prior-authorization and step-therapy measure, on a committee substitute that had already incorporated many stakeholder changes. The sponsor and agency witnesses described revisions to definitions of chronic health condition and serious mental illness, shorter prior-authorization periods, and limits on reporting requirements. Supporters, including a nurse practitioner and disability advocates, said the bill would reduce barriers to needed medications and urged broader protections for chronic and behavioral health conditions. Health insurance and pharmacy benefit management representatives remained opposed, arguing prior authorization is an important patient-safety tool and objecting to the bill’s limits on its use. Senator Hickey offered two amendments: one to conform electronic prior-authorization response times to existing law by changing seven days to three, and one to restore the prior-authorization period from 12 months to three years. The first amendment was accepted; the second passed on a 5-4 vote. The committee then approved the amended substitute 6-3. The committee next heard Senate Bill 111, which would expand the confidentiality of personal information held by the Motor Vehicle Division to include sex, gender identity, national origin, and immigration status. Tax and Revenue officials explained that the bill would not change what documents MVD collects, but would limit disclosure of sensitive information contained in scanned records unless a statutory exception applies. Members asked about what appears on licenses, what is stored in MVD’s system, and whether law enforcement access would change; officials said criminal law enforcement exceptions would remain in place and that the bill mainly affects public disclosure requests. The committee voted 8-1 to give the bill a do-pass recommendation. Senate Bill 218, funding a Los Alamos Emergency Operations Center, was presented as a regional disaster-response and training facility for northern New Mexico. Los Alamos County witnesses said the project would support emergency management training and coordination across the region and requested $5 million. Several senators questioned whether the county had explored bonding, intergovernmental agreements, or regional cost-sharing, and raised concerns about Los Alamos’s debt capacity and whether the project was truly regional. Supporters said the county has a long capital backlog and that the center would serve communities from Santa Fe north. The committee ultimately voted 9-1 to advance the bill. Finally, the committee heard Senate Bill 14, a major health professional loan-repayment proposal. Senator Hickey described it as an effort to recruit and retain physicians, nurses, and other allied health professionals by increasing repayment amounts, prioritizing physicians and doctors of osteopathic medicine for 50% of the fund, and allowing service commitments with some flexibility, including part-time work. Supporters from medical, nursing, and behavioral health groups said the bill would help address workforce shortages and make New Mexico more competitive. Committee members asked about the inclusion of physician assistants, the 90-day start requirement, anti-donation concerns, tax treatment, tribal and IHS providers, and whether the 50% physician set-aside would leave enough for other professions. After discussion, the committee voted 10-0 to send the bill forward with a do-pass recommendation.

Transcript Highlights:

• , behavioral, or mental health care provider.
• They can only do so many boats a day.
• At the end of the day, we have constitutional rights.
• They can only do so many boats a day.
• At the end of the day, we have constitutional rights.

Committee: House State Affairs

Keywords: 989, all

Transcript Highlights:

• A health care system in our country is expensive.
• Insurance premiums, high deductibles, and high prices for care.
• care that they need.
• , whether they can pay for that care that they get.
• Take 10 days. Think about it. Think about what you're doing.

Bills: HF1646 , HF2443

Committee: House Commerce Finance and Policy

Keywords: medical debt, debt relief, healthcare financing, consumer protection, financial hardship, commerce, cannabis, insurance, housing, ombudsperson, affordability, property, task force, financial institutions

Transcript Highlights:

• And then there's comprehensive managed care where the managed care organization oversees most or all
• managed care was very small.
• managed care was very small.
• organization to another managed care organization, from fee-for-service to managed care.
• organization to another managed care organization, from Thief for service to managed care.

Committee: Senate Health and Welfare

Keywords: 989, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We have a few days here.
• Two days before that oral argument, this bill was filed.
• You would work an eight-hour shift every day or something.
• Doesn't care what state statute. That is what governs.
• So I just want us to be very careful about that.

Committee: Senate Senate Budget and Appropriations

Keywords: 1146, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Capitol as they gather to celebrate Westlico Day.
• Speaker, I bet you did not know that today is Texas Blood, bone and Organ Donation Day, a day that we
• Donor Day was established originally to honor Dr.
• They're here today for Capitol Career Day.
• Members, today is Young County Day, uh, at the State Capitol.

Transcript Highlights:

• Should we refrain from moving care?
• </c> steps towards expanding uh managed care steps towards expanding uh managed care and<00:06:46.639
• </c><00:07:55.199><c> Um</c> amounting to about $74 a day. Um amounting to about $74 a day.
• </c><00:12:01.440><c> long-term</c> instituted managed care for long-term instituted managed care for
• </c><00:30:28.960><c> You</c> going to long-term managed care. You going to long-term managed care.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee approved the previous meeting minutes and then reviewed a draft preliminary report on long-term managed care. The chair explained the report is intended to frame issues and outline legislative options, not make a final recommendation, especially given unresolved questions about the federal One Big Beautiful Bill (OB3). The report’s key issues included the current financing of county and private nursing homes through Medicaid rates, ProShare, MQUIP, and related funding mechanisms, and the concern that those payments could be affected or eliminated under a managed care model. Members also discussed managed care organizations’ role in Medicaid and cited other states’ experiences, noting examples of savings in Florida and Tennessee but higher costs in California. One member raised Indiana as another important comparison, and the committee agreed to add it to the report’s state examples. The committee also reviewed sections on dual eligibility, D-SNP, PACE, and CFI waivers. The chair raised concerns about whether OB3 creates incentives for states to move toward D-SNP and whether federal changes could affect provider taxes, state-directed payments, and intergovernmental transfers. Henry Litman, the state Medicaid director, said he would confirm details on D-SNP incentives and explained that ProShare is based on certified public expenditure rather than an IGT, while county cap financing is the relevant intergovernmental transfer issue. He said IGTs are not going away and that the main risk is whether current financing mechanisms could be preserved if the state later changed course. Members discussed the possibility of a waiver not being granted or renewed and the high fiscal impact that could have on counties and property taxes. The committee then discussed the population that any long-term managed care model should cover. Members agreed that there is no appetite to move developmental disability or acquired brain disorder populations into long-term managed care at this time, and the chair changed the report’s terminology from “elderly” to “aging population.” The chair also noted that the status quo option should reflect the recent shift toward home and community-based services and reduced nursing home utilization since earlier county reports. The report’s four policy options were summarized as: maintain the status quo; pursue D-SNP for dual eligibles, with DHHS potentially submitting an application as early as 2027; adopt an HCBS carveout; or move fully to managed care for the aging population. No final policy recommendation was made, and the committee discussed making edits to the draft before circulation, including adding Indiana, clarifying OB3-related issues, and changing the report title from “final” to “preliminary” or “interim.”

Transcript Highlights:

• One of them is a quality care oversight by the department.
• I know that is not the outcome of safe, effective care.
• So oversight of residential care facilities, I thought it might include fraud.
• And we were lucky day. Legislation because it's a problem.
• It just gives them better continuity of care.

Summary: The committee heard House Bill 723, which Representative Erickson said was developed in response to a state oversight report on children’s residential care and testimony about abuse and neglect in licensed youth treatment facilities. The bill would codify and strengthen oversight standards, require individualized service planning, create a youth bill of rights for residents and parents, and require critical incident reporting to parents or guardians within one business day. Erickson said the bill largely mirrors existing department rules, was drafted with the Department of Health and Welfare to avoid a fiscal note, and includes enforcement tools such as corrective action plans, sanctions, payment withholding, and law-enforcement referral for crimes. Several senators raised concerns about whether the bill was strong enough, whether unannounced inspections could raise Fourth Amendment issues, whether faith-based facilities would be affected, and whether the department would have too much discretion. Erickson responded that the inspections apply only to licensed facilities, not private homes, and that the bill is intended to improve transparency and oversight without changing existing rights or imposing new costs. Survivors and advocates testified in strong support, describing seclusion, restraints, forced medication, medical neglect, lack of private communication, humiliation, and retaliation in Idaho and out-of-state residential programs. They argued the bill would improve accountability, transparency, and safety for children and families. After testimony, the committee discussed the bill further. Some members said the bill was a meaningful step but wanted stronger consequences, while others noted the seriousness of the abuse described and the need for oversight of Medicaid-funded facilities. Senator Wintrow moved to send H723 to the floor with a do pass recommendation, and the motion passed by voice vote. The committee then received a presentation from Teligen on its role as Idaho Medicaid’s quality improvement organization. Nancy Johnson explained that Teligen handles prior authorization, quality oversight, fraud and abuse reporting, and a small case management program for complex Medicaid participants. She said the case management team of five Idaho-based nurses reached out to just over 1,000 participants in 2025, fully engaged 160, and reported about $850,000 in cost savings through reduced readmissions and better care coordination. Members asked about contract costs, staffing, the scope of services, and how suspected fraud is reported to the Medicaid program integrity unit. The committee adjourned after the presentation.

Transcript Highlights:

• Caring leave, that or sometimes known as family caring leave, is leave to care for a family member with
• Caring leave, that or sometimes known as family caring leave, is leave to care for a family member with
• </c> point something days. 13.8 days, but I point something days. 13.8 days, but I want<01:14:46.239>
• </c> February 15th, 13.8 days. February 15th, 13.8 days.
• </c> it's been a month and two days. it's been a month and two days.

Committee: Senate Jobs and Economic Development

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> them by 5:00 p.m. the uh day before them by 5:00 p.m. the uh day before which<00:08:04.120><c> works
• </c> committee as a rural healthc care committee as a rural healthc care provider<00:11:48.200><c> access
• First of all, let me thank you for, God, the days are going fast.
• First of all, let me thank you for, God, the days are going fast.
• Okay, moving on to our last bill of the day, House Bill 1320, relating to education.

Committee: House Higher Education

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The House Committee on Higher Education met on January 31 and heard six bills. The chair opened by outlining committee practices, including giving at least 72 hours’ notice for hearings, releasing testimony by 5:00 p.m. the day before hearings, and deferring bills needing substantive HT1 changes so members would not vote “blind.” Members briefly thanked the chair for the transparency approach before moving to the agenda. HB 223 would create a Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy special fund and workforce assessment fee to support a pharmacy center. Testimony from the Board of Pharmacy, the Hawaii Pharmacists Association, the University of Hawaiʻi Hilo College of Pharmacy, Mokai Drugs, and others generally supported the measure, emphasizing workforce data, rural access, student loan repayment, and retention. The committee later advanced HB 223 with amendments, including leaving fee amounts blank for further discussion and inserting a defective date, and the motion passed unanimously. HB 940 would appropriate funds for the rat lungworm lab at UH Hilo; HB 546 would establish the Aloha Intelligence Institute at UH to advance AI; HB 549 would create an early learning apprenticeship grant program; HB 1172 would add the Department of Taxation to the Statewide Longitudinal Data System for wage-data sharing; and HB 1320 would require UH to collect and publicly report graduate outcome data and create a dashboard. Testimony on these bills was largely supportive, with some privacy concerns raised on HB 1172 and a request to protect taxpayer confidentiality. In decision-making, the committee passed all five bills with amendments, generally deleting or blanking appropriations and FTEs for Finance Committee review, adding defective dates for further discussion, and in HB 549 adding a statement that the program is a matter of statewide concern. The committee recessed briefly for decision-making and then adopted the chair’s recommendations on each bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> allowed under the personal care allowed under the personal care assistance<00:04:52.400><c> benefit
• to day.
• </c><00:21:30.159><c> services</c><00:21:31.120><c> so</c> you know those day-to-day services so you
• know those day-to-day services so that's<00:21:31.559><c> one</c><00:21:32.000><c> one</c><00:21:32.200
• No, no, they don’t withhold care.

Committees: Senate Health and Human Services , Senate Human Services

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Next was SB 69, relating to child care.
• Moving on to SB 829 relating to health care.
• </c> served our country every day served our country every day approximately<00:42:50.000><c> 22</c><
• More days than not, I didn't care if I woke up the next day.
• from the day before, and I couldn't count before that.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Health and Human Services Committee heard testimony on several measures related to child welfare, health care access, overdose response, disability services, and waste management. For SB 710 on child welfare, the Department of Human Services, the Office of Wellness and Resilience, the Attorney General’s office, and multiple advocacy groups testified in support, with the Governor’s office noting support but deferring to the Attorney General on implementation because of separation-of-powers concerns. For SB 952 on child welfare services, DHS, the Governor’s office, and child- and trauma-informed care advocates supported the bill, saying it would help families access services, provide basic material support, and reduce strain on the child welfare system. SB 954 on a home health services rate study also drew support, including from DHS, the Hawaii Healthcare Association, and a public testifier who said the study would help ensure funds reach low-income, disabled, and kupuna recipients. SB 957 on overdose prevention received support from the Department of Health and the Attorney General, who said overdose prevention centers are evidence-based but raised federal-law concerns and recommended amendments; the Hawaii Health and Harm Reduction Center and others also testified in support. The committee then moved to the 1:00 regular calendar and heard SB 850 on disability health disparity, which was supported by the Executive Office on Aging, the Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities, the Hawaii Disability Rights Center, self-advocates, and others. Testimony emphasized that a disparity study could improve workforce development, training, and services for people with disabilities. SB 838 on continuous glucose monitoring drew support from health agencies and advocates, with testimony stressing that monitors can be critical for some diabetes patients. SB 829 on health care was supported by the Department of Health and health care stakeholders, who said it would help rotating physicians serve neighbor islands without local hospital privileges and align with CMS rules. SB 446 on waste management drew mixed testimony: the Department of Health and several public entities provided comments, the County of Maui opposed, and environmental advocates urged stronger aquifer protections and limits on ash reuse. During decision making, the committee adopted recommendations to pass SB 298, SB 322, SB 299, SB 450, SB 451, SB 949, SB 710, SB 957, SB 69, and SD 952 with various amendments, including technical changes, blank appropriations, and defective dates. SB 323, SB 324, SB 712, SB 950, SB 954, and SB 959 were deferred, largely because companion House measures were moving or similar Senate measures had already passed. The chair also announced recesses to find quorum and noted that some bills from the earlier Monday calendar were being deferred to avoid duplication.

Transcript Highlights:

• Child care.
• I mean, we hear all day long at this capital about the desperate need that parents have for child care
• Foster care. For young adults, It. The state comes in to bridge that gap. Foster care.
• The bill changes it to every 90 days.
• Basically, who cares if only 7% of filers have to file an amendment?

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The President would like to acknowledge the page of the day, Sheridan Ellingson. She is from St.
• When I chaired the Health Care Task Force, When I chaired the Health Care Task Force, we are one of the
• The preventative care that was mentioned a little bit earlier, The preventative care that was mentioned
• But at the end of the day, the rest of the time, But at the end of the day, the rest of the time, we're
• And what we're talking about is the Affordable Care Act.

Keywords: 908, all

Summary: The Senate reconvened and handled several House messages and conference committee appointments before taking up a series of bills. It appointed conference committees on Senate Bill 2265 and House Bills 1454, 1448, and 1524. The chamber also adopted a Senate amendment to House Bill 1216, delaying its effective date for the copay accumulator prescription drug bill to January 1, 2026, with later renewal timing for non-PERS plans. House Bill 1216 then came up for final passage. Senators debated whether allowing copay accumulator programs to count manufacturer coupons toward deductibles would help patients with expensive drugs or unfairly shift costs to insurers and other policyholders. Supporters said it would help people afford life-saving medications and that the coupon payments go to pharmacies, not insurers; opponents argued it could raise premiums and create perverse incentives for drug pricing. The bill passed 29-18. The Senate also concurred in House amendments to Senate Bill 2160, which changes health insurance benefits under the Uniform Group Insurance Program to move from a grandfathered to a non-grandfathered plan, with supporters emphasizing added benefits and flexibility and opponents warning of higher costs and irreversible changes. That bill passed concurrence 33-14 and final passage 39-8. The Senate next concurred in House amendments to Senate Bill 2339, the wildfire mitigation bill, which requires utility mitigation plans to be updated every two years, incorporate national electric standards, and creates a rebuttable presumption of reasonable care if the plan is followed. The bill then passed final passage 46-1. The chamber also adopted conference committee reports and passed House Bill 1460 on adult foster care and monitoring devices, House Bill 1440 on cigar lounge tobacco use, and Senate Bill 2374 on insurance-related provisions including property insurance arbitration, managed repair programs, and surplus lines issues; SB 2374 also added a study on towing and recovery coverage. The session ended with announcements of upcoming conference committee meetings and adjournment until April 22, 2025.

Transcript Highlights:

• Trump, it is a new day in America.
• I will work day in and day out to advance President Trump's agenda and common-sense solutions.
• I will work day in and day out to advance President Trump's agenda and common-sense solutions, which
• Today is the actual day. Happy birthday, Andrew. I hope you have a wonderful day. With that, Mr.
• This is a new day in America. The days of forestry mismanagement are coming to an end.

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:15:20.279><c> in</c> the professional standard of care in the professional standard of care in
• </c> by the federal government to take care by the federal government to take care of<00:26:13.840><c
• They have a three-day turnaround time, three days maximum, or three days.
• entity no later than five calendar days before the provision of the health care service.
• care service.

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The joint hearing covered HB 553 on biomarker testing coverage, HB 556 on colorectal cancer screening access, and later HB 712 on 340B drug pricing. For HB 553, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, patient advocates Natalie Heyman and Susan Hirano, a surgical oncologist, and the American Lung Association strongly supported the bill, arguing that biomarker testing should be covered when ordered by a doctor and guided by current evidence. DHS and several insurers offered comments and requested amendments, with DHS saying it appreciated the intent but wanted changes. The committees then voted to pass HB 553 with amendments, including a House draft and a defective date of July 1, 3000; both the House Health and Human Services and Homelessness committees adopted the recommendation unanimously. For HB 556, testimony focused on closing gaps in colorectal cancer screening, especially for uninsured and underinsured patients who can get stool-based screening but then cannot access follow-up colonoscopies. Community Clinic of Maui, ACS CAN, and the American Cancer Society supported the bill, with ACS CAN urging a program similar to the breast and cervical cancer control program and offering amendments. DHS requested that the program and appropriation not conflict with executive budget priorities, and the committees noted technical amendments, a defective date, a blank appropriation amount, and corrections changing Medicare references to Medicaid. HB 556 was also passed with amendments by both committees. The hearing then moved to HB 712 on 340B drug pricing and contract pharmacies. The Department of Health and the Attorney General’s office expressed concern that the bill would require the state to regulate private commercial activity and said the department lacked the expertise and resources to implement it as written, suggesting it might belong in a different statutory section. In contrast, PhRMA opposed the bill, while Hawaii Pacific Health and Hawaii Island Community Health Center supported it, saying 340B savings are important for hospital services and patient access to low-cost medications, especially where manufacturers have restricted shipments to contract pharmacies. No vote on HB 712 was taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• I WILL JUMP QUICKLY TO NONEMERGENT CARE ACCESS PLANS.
• THOSE LACKING REGULAR ACCESS TO PRIMARY CARE IN ASSESSING APPROPRIATE CARE SETTINGS.
• AND CAN PROVIDE ADEQUATE RURAL EMERGENCY SERVICES IN THE FACILITY 24 HOURS A DAY, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
• NEXT HEALTH CARE INNOVATION SPONSORED BY PRESIDENT PASSIDOMO.
• ALSO THERE ARE 45 DAYS OF CAMERA FOOTAGE.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This is not about limiting care.
• You talk about access to care and Delays, the denials, and the access to care.
• If you came in and you had a 10-day prescription, it got rejected. A 14-day got rejected.
• A 30-day got rejected. They forced us. It had to be seven days.
• This is what we see day in, day out. PAs are just a controlled cost measure.

Bills: HB282 , HB293 , HB390 , HB456 , HB460 , HB561 , HB819 , HB1023 , HB1047 , HB1101

Committee: House Labor & Industrial

Keywords: employment discrimination, criminal history, rehabilitation, hiring process, human rights, gender identity, sexual orientation, workplace equality, labor rights, domestic abuse, unpaid leave, employee rights, workplace protection, mental health, survivor support, workers' compensation, employment benefits, claims process, fraud prevention, legal petition

Transcript Highlights:

• The same day I had the adult my office.
• . for our long-term care nursing home for our long-term care nursing home system<00:09:10.800><c> to<
• </c><00:10:35.680><c> locally</c> infrastructure to provide care locally infrastructure to provide care
• </c><00:15:17.160><c> He</c> and with the health care policies.
• He and with the health care policies.

Keywords: 1183, house