Transcript Highlights:

• community-based living, and advances person-centered policies that respect dignity, independence, and stability
• ><00:25:27.160><c> and</c> respect dignity, independence, and respect dignity, independence, and stability
• > It</c><00:25:28.360><c> also</c><00:25:28.640><c> strengthens</c><00:25:29.120><c> patient</c> stability
• It also strengthens patient stability.

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The committee took up House File 729, an omnibus policy bill, and walked through a series of amendments before moving the bill forward. Early amendments addressed adult maltreatment accountability, senior nutrition flexibility, MA provider enrollment and fraud prevention, Direct Care and Treatment data and staffing provisions, disability and aging policy changes, technical corrections from DHS, behavioral health language, and MDH policy updates. Most amendments were adopted without public opposition, and several members and testifiers described them as clarifications or technical fixes to existing policy. Testimony focused on the practical effects of the bill’s provisions. Direct Care and Treatment representatives said the changes would help with data sharing, governance, staffing, patient care, and longer return stays for certain patients. Several witnesses from the substance use disorder and health care provider community supported changes to discharge summary deadlines and claims recoupment rules, arguing that business-day timelines and limits on late clawbacks would reduce administrative burden and financial uncertainty. A disability advocate also urged passage of the bill, saying services for people with disabilities were at risk if it did not advance. After public testimony and member discussion, the committee adopted the DE2 amendment as amended and then approved the bill as amended. Chair Noor renewed the motion to re-refer House File 729 to the Committee on Ways and Means, and that motion passed.

Transcript Highlights:

• just to give some broader context, in addition to the $5.5 million that we have here for kind of stabilizing
• So it's going to be about roughly $11 million in the total HASC scenario to kind of stabilize their balance
• to give some like broader context in addition to the 5.5 million that we have here for kind of stabilizing
• So it's going to be about roughly 11 million in the total HASC scenario to kind of stabilize their balance

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Work should equal stability. Just should equal a chance to live, not just survive.
• Let's set up some booths so we can educate and say, hey, let's do it.
• Educational or professional opportunities.
• Ken Bradford with the Department of Education.
• Ken Bradford, Chief of Staff, Department of Education.

Summary: The committee first took up Senate Bill 162, which would change the workers’ compensation medical treatment schedule appeals process by allowing additional medical evidence submitted in court to be sent back to the medical director for review and a new opinion. The Attorney General’s office explained the bill, noting a 30-day deadline for the medical director to act before the case returns to court. The bill drew support from injured workers and several business and labor groups, and the committee adopted technical amendments and then reported the bill favorably without objection. House Bill 353, which would establish a state minimum wage starting at $12 in 2027, rising to $15 in 2029 and then indexed to inflation, prompted extensive testimony and debate. Supporters, including the sponsor, Invest in Louisiana, the Workplace Justice Project, 10,000 Women Louisiana, and the AFL-CIO, argued that Louisiana’s wages have lagged behind living costs, that many workers remain in poverty despite working, and that higher wages would help families and local economies. Opponents, including NFIB and several members, argued that the market is already setting wages above the federal minimum in many jobs, that a mandate would raise costs, compress pay scales, reduce hours or jobs, and hurt small businesses. After discussion, the committee voted on the bill and it failed on a roll call vote. The committee then reported Senate Bill 383 favorably with amendments. That bill expands the incumbent worker training program by increasing funding flexibility, shortening the business eligibility period from three years to two, and allowing unobligated funds to roll over. Members and the Louisiana Works secretary discussed workforce training, outreach, and how to connect workers to existing training programs and high-demand jobs. The committee also reported Senate Bill 382 favorably, which repeals the Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council, and began hearing House Bill 422, the “Behind-the-Counter Safety Act,” aimed at workplace violence protections for retail and food service workers, including signage, reporting, and enhanced penalties; the sponsor explained it was intended to address attacks on frontline workers and to give businesses a tool to warn against violence.

Transcript Highlights:

• I call this meeting of the House Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee to order.
• This bill also preserves the existing flexibility of the OHE, or Office of Higher Education, when the
• So the bill provides flexibility while still protecting the long-term stability of the program.
• So the bill provides flexibility while still protecting the long-term stability of the program.
• </c> want to enroll in post-secary education want to enroll in post-secary education so<00:12:31.200>

Bills: HF4266

Keywords: higher education, state grants, financial aid, college affordability, Office of Higher Education, Minnesota State Grant, need analysis, expected family contribution, student aid, grant formula, living and miscellaneous expense allowance, dependent student, independent student, parental contribution, student contribution, surplus appropriation, biennium, summer 2026, 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• We want to make sure that there is stability within our state.
• We want to make sure that there is stability within our state.
• We want to make sure that there is stability within our state.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Members, this bill aims to strengthen the fairness, stability, and professionalism of Harris County Sheriff's
• employees, ensuring hiring transparency, promotions and disciplinary actions, and promoting workforce stability
• So that would ensure smooth transitions, protecting job stability and upholding fair standards throughout

Transcript Highlights:

• either by private vehicle or by EMS for care, and once that care has been delivered and they've been stabilized
• either by private vehicle or by EMS for care, and once that care has been delivered and they've been stabilized
• care they provide to<01:18:11.120><c> Medicaid</c><01:18:11.840><c> patients</c><01:18:12.840><c> stabilizing
• </c><01:18:13.600><c> the</c> To Medicaid patients, stabilizing the financing and protecting access to
• This includes research, training for medical education.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• So this is the commission on post-secondary education that we're moving back, right?
• So the commission on post-secondary education is created in statute under Deeter, as well as being under
• It's a part of the program through their education. Thank you.
• Are there other companies and other organizations, either nonprofits, other educational, like either
• The Biden administration created the premium stabilization demonstration project.

Bills: AB6, AB102, AB131, AB212, AB213, AB220, AB259, AB282, AB376, AB396, AB479, AB503, AB570, AB572, AB574, AB576, AB593, SB185, SB207, SB507, AB6

Keywords: fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, FASD, prenatal alcohol exposure, children's health, developmental disability, early intervention, treatment assistance, Aging and Disability Services Division, Department of Health and Human Services, Autism Treatment Assistance Program, public health, parent education, evidence-based treatment, Nevada NRS 427A, disability services, behavioral health, emergency medical services, ambulance, licensing, health district

Transcript Highlights:

• We appreciate the intent of 2711 and efforts to stabilize long-term transportation funding across the
• I'm the Education Director at Cascade Bicycle Club, and we are the contractor responsible for awarding
• We respectfully ask that you incorporate the sustainable funding for the bike education program that's
• We deliver in-school bike and pedestrian safety education in third through eighth grade PE classes and
• We will advance on to Substitute House Bill 2410, establishing a commercial truck safety and education

Summary: The Senate Transportation Committee held a work session on two major corridor projects before moving to public hearing and executive session. In the Yakima area, WSDOT, Yakima County, and Ecology described the Interstate 82/east-west connector work as a coordinated effort to add capacity, improve interchanges, and address the Boise Cascade mill site contamination that sits in the project footprint. County and Ecology witnesses said the county is ready to remove wood waste and contaminated material, but the project is stalled pending a draft work plan and a de minimis consent decree; several senators pressed for faster action and clearer direction from Ecology. The committee then heard an update on the SR 3 Belfair freight corridor, where WSDOT said environmental review is complete and the next major step is an access hearing this summer, followed by right-of-way acquisition and construction likely in late 2027 or early 2028. Local and tribal partners emphasized the project’s importance for freight mobility, housing growth, emergency access, and regional economic development. The public hearing was on engrossed substitute House Bill 2711, a transportation resources bill that largely tracks provisions from prior legislation but also adds or changes several tax and account provisions. Staff explained that the bill clarifies fuel tax and peer-to-peer tax distributions, treats trade-in value differently for recreational vessel and luxury vehicle taxes, provides a six-month motor home exemption and penalty waiver for the luxury vehicle tax, allows lease payments to be made over time, exempts tribal members and nonresidents, creates a Preserve Washington account, changes some transfer timing, and repeals the luxury aircraft tax. Testimony was mixed: aviation groups supported repealing the luxury aircraft tax; trucking and some citizens opposed fuel tax and diesel tax increases; Sound Transit, transit advocates, labor, and ferry interests asked for amendments such as 75-year bonding authority, mobile driver’s licenses, ferry funding, and bike education funding. Alaska Airlines and Delta also supported adding mobile ID language. In executive session, the committee advanced several bills, including SHB 1823, SHB 2114, E2SHB 2251, SHB 2323, SHB 2410, EHB 2588, 2SHB 1923, and HB 2495, all with due pass recommendations after adopting amendments where applicable. The committee adopted a striking amendment to E2SHB 2251 adjusting Climate Commitment Act account distributions and a striking amendment to EHB 2588 limiting the ferry district changes to Whatcom County and removing the voter-approval tax provision. It also adopted an amendment to 2SHB 1923 that added further conditions for passenger-only ferry districts, including whale-protection and fare-related provisions. Senator King voted no on E2SHB 2251, objecting that the bill reduced the transportation share of Climate Commitment Act revenues. The chair announced one more executive action meeting would be held Wednesday morning, with amendment requests due the prior day.

Transcript Highlights:

• On page 112, you can see the physical education area, and they did provide a court space. 6,500 square
• FCI score for that particular gym and in discussions with the district about how the new physical education
• Part of this discussion is stability and skin in the game. We fought long and hard.
• their football facility or what a lot of districts do with ancillary space that is not related to education
• It does support teachers moving into communities to better support the educational programs.

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, it is the financial stability to getting people wealth for themselves.
• HB 459 appropriates 1.5 million from the general fund to the higher education.
• And a lot of the recommendations were focused on the need for more research, more education, and more
• Of course, outreach and education are equally important. So we thank you.
• We would also have educators, researchers, and provide opportunities for interns who would Then be able

Transcript Highlights:

• Fund to the Higher Education Department for a program to be housed at the Institute of American Indian
• In collaboration with the Institute of American Indian Arts, which I also serve as an extension educator
• For pollinators of the National Agriculture Research Extension Education and Economics Advisory Board
• Of course, the outreach and education is equally important.
• We would also have educators, researchers, and provide opportunities for interns who would then be able

Transcript Highlights:

• So I agree adult education is important.
• , their K-12 education complete so that they can move forward.
• So I agree adult education is important.
• , their K-12 education complete so that they can move forward.
• So I really value education.

Summary: The House convened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, then approved the House Journal for the 40th day by roll call vote, 122-1. Members used points of personal privilege to recognize the departure of Scott Bell and to honor the life of Ernie Dempsey of St. Charles, and the chamber welcomed numerous special guests, including Child Advocacy Day participants, school groups, local civic leaders, and visitors from across the state. The main floor business centered on House Bill 3239, which would make the Missouri Workforce Diploma Program permanent and move it into the MOCAP framework with a $4 million annual cap and pay-for-performance funding. Supporters said the program has helped about 1,200 adults earn diplomas, especially women and parents needing flexible online access, while opponents argued it would divert foundation formula money from K-12 students and duplicate existing adult education options. An amendment adding a college admissions and financial aid task force was offered but failed, 55-82; the previous question was then ordered, and HB 3239 was perfected and printed. The House also perfected and printed House Bill 1786, which would prevent county assessors from reclassifying single-family homes used as short-term rentals from residential to commercial for tax purposes. Supporters framed it as a property-rights and tax-relief measure for homeowners and small LLCs, while opponents raised concerns about local control and the line between mom-and-pop rentals and larger business operations. House Bill 2944, dealing with the senior property tax freeze, was amended to clarify that the freeze applies across taxing districts and to simplify annual filing and notification requirements; a later amendment was ruled out of order, and the bill was perfected and printed as amended. The House then moved to announcements and recessed until 2 p.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• Education and healthcare continue to be our largest drivers of the budget.
• Education and healthcare continue to be our largest drivers of the budget.
• K-12 education. This is kind of historical totals.
• Um, K-12 education. This is kind of historical totals.
• I do think also it's erroneous to equate the quality of our education...

Bills: S7010

Keywords: Roth contributions, deferred compensation, retirement savings, Florida Statutes, tax benefits

Summary: The Senate Committee on Appropriations met to take up SB 7010 by Senator Mayfield, which would authorize Roth post-tax contribution options in state and local deferred compensation plans. The bill was briefly explained, received one appearance in support, had no debate, and was reported favorably by roll call vote. The committee then heard a lengthy presentation from the Governor’s Office of Policy and Budget on the governor’s recommended $117.4 billion “Floridians’ First Budget.” The presentation highlighted major spending areas including education, health care, public safety, transportation, environmental restoration, and economic development. Key proposals included increased FEFP funding for K-12 schools, teacher salary funding, higher education support, Everglades and water quality funding, emergency preparedness reserves, corrections staffing and pay increases, law enforcement recruitment bonuses, cybersecurity, and affordable housing and infrastructure investments. Members asked extensive questions about property tax reserve planning, litigation funding, emergency response fund balances and expenditures, the use of federal reimbursement for the Everglades detention facilities, the animal abuse hotline, Hope Florida, corrections staffing, and the proposed reduction in ADAP eligibility for HIV/AIDS medication assistance. A member of the public also testified at length about concerns that the ADAP changes would harm access to life-saving medications and alleged improper shifting of program funds. Committee members and the presenter acknowledged follow-up questions on several items, but no additional votes or formal actions were taken beyond the favorable report on SB 7010 and adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• strong protective orders reduces victimization, limits law enforcement calls, and improves long-term stability
• I'm with the Arizona Mad Moms and Mad Moms Services and Educational Fund.
• We're talking about serious brain conditions like schizophrenia that require antipsychotic or mood-stabilizing
• positive, safe after-school clubs, and we focus on skill building, information sharing, community-wide education
• On behalf of Fountain Hills Protect Our Youth and the many families, educators, and community partners

Summary: The Judiciary and Elections Committee approved the January 21, 2026 minutes and held SB 1208. It then heard SB 1211, which would allow victims of felony aggravated harassment involving domestic violence to seek a lifetime injunction against a convicted defendant. Supporters from victim advocacy organizations and a survivor described the bill as an important safety measure that would reduce repeated court appearances and trauma. The committee voted 7-0 to give SB 1211 a do pass recommendation. The committee next considered SB 1239, which removes the statute of limitations for failing to register as a sex offender or providing false registration information. The sponsor said the bill closes a public-safety loophole and was requested by DPS, while opponents argued existing warrant procedures already address the issue and raised due process concerns. After discussion, the committee voted 4-3 to recommend SB 1239 do pass. SB 1240 would exclude probationers convicted of dangerous crimes against children from the probation incentive payment formula. The sponsor tied the bill to a recent child sexual assault case and said the change would keep those cases separate from probation performance incentives; defense attorneys warned it could discourage treatment and push more people into prison. The committee voted 4-3 to recommend SB 1240 do pass. The committee also heard and approved SB 1095, as amended, which bans gender transition procedures and referrals for minors and restricts public funding and facilities for such care; supporters called it necessary child protection, while opponents said it was discriminatory. The committee then heard SB 1243 and SB 1244, both related to court-ordered mental health treatment. SB 1243 adds notice to guardians and lets them seek continued treatment, while SB 1244 creates a continuing court-ordered treatment process after repeated annual reviews. Supporters, including family members of seriously mentally ill patients, said the bills would close gaps and prevent dangerous lapses in care; opponents raised due process concerns and warned about expanded involuntary treatment. Both bills received do pass recommendations, with SB 1243 passing 7-0 and SB 1244 passing after amendment and roll call vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• and addressing affordable housing, coastal resiliency, sustainability, and financial and economic stability
• and issues of affordable housing, postal resiliency, sustainability, and financial and economic stability

Bills: H5332, H5333, H5358, H5364, H5365, H5379, H5387, H5388, H5416, S3055

Keywords: mayor vacancy, Holyoke, city council, election procedures, municipal governance, residency requirement, elected officials, local government, citizenship, charter amendment, municipal lien, local charges, property tax, nonpayment, Newton, residency requirements, municipal regulation, elected office, Falmouth, Licensing Commission

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> public safety, and community education public safety, and community education regarding<00:16:35.600
• More funding and increased education.
• So we have water stability for years.
• </c><00:27:31.279><c> visitors</c> form, we would like to educate visitors form, we would like to educate
• </c> um so that it becomes an educational um so that it becomes an educational tool<00:46:45.839><c>

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• off-site improvements, giving all parties—planners, cities, and developers alike—the certainty and stability
• who need the services and the treatment they need to maintain their shelter and permanent housing stability
• I want to thank you. for not just housing, but public safety and family stability.
• And what I see being the state's role is really how do we stabilize this?
• It takes a lot of that safeguard and stability that comes with homeownership away.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• and the strategic approach necessitated increased coordination with industry to ensure supply stabilization
• So they are continuing to do the analysis of all the supply stabilization measures that are before us
• somewhat splitting time between the other supply evaluation and assessment of the other supply stabilization
• So there's no stabilized supply there, right? Are you wanting to get into details about supply?
• I would further comment and say, if the issue is about funding stability for a program like that, we're

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Our mission is simple: provide a quality education in a caring environment.
• I mean, they don't—I don't mean get out, not continue their education.
• Dakota for higher education.
• Students want to feel safe on campus and to purely go for their education.
• to the higher education.

Keywords: 908, all