Transcript Highlights:

• So the department sets nursing home rates twice a year, and in January nursing homes realized there were
• going to be devastating reimbursement cuts. 33 nursing homes, including 10 of the county nursing homes
• </c><00:04:23.280><c> losing</c> nursing home sector and prevent losing nursing home sector and prevent
• </c><00:04:41.280><c> Nursing</c><00:04:41.840><c> home</c><00:04:42.080><c> care</c> Nursing home care
• <00:06:35.919><c> homes</c> nursing homes nursing homes just<00:06:38.160><c> cut</c><00:06:38.560><c

Committee: Senate Ways and Means

Transcript Highlights:

• nursing home and then to a a a different nursing home and then have<00:16:09.279><c> to</c><00:16:09.360
• </c> typical for any uh nursing typical for any uh nursing home<00:58:44.400><c> next</c><00:58:44.640
• We do also get applications from other nursing homes.
• > to</c><01:05:07.799><c> or</c> other nursing homes aren't able to or other nursing homes aren't able
• </c><01:23:27.400><c> home</c> conversation at the County nursing home conversation at the County nursing

Summary: Division 3 opened a work session focused on direct care agencies, with the chair saying the day would center on the Veterans Home and other state hospitals and homes. Members first discussed the upcoming Finance Committee process, including how many bills would be assigned to Division 3, whether they would appear on the House calendar, and how much time would be allowed for each bill. The chair said the division would likely spend about an hour on each bill, then return for a second day of review before making recommendations. Staff later identified three bills expected on the calendar: House Bills 704, 751, and 54. Members also raised a question about the use of educational trust fund money in the budget, but that issue was deferred. The main presentation came from Kim McKay, commandant of the New Hampshire Veterans Home, who described the facility as a long-term care intermediate facility serving eligible veterans. She said the home is licensed for 250 beds, budgeted for 225 veterans, and currently has 135 residents with four more scheduled to arrive. McKay highlighted improvements over the last two years, including a reduction in the admission wait list from more than a year to about three to six months, the creation of an LNA training program, energy-saving and Wi-Fi upgrades, and a new electronic learning management system that will provide mandatory training and continuing education units for staff. She said the home’s long-term goal is to return to a 225-bed census, but staffing remains the biggest hurdle. Members asked about admissions, wait times, staffing, vacancies, and the home’s use of contract nurses. McKay explained that the wait time is measured from the initial application date, not from a completed packet, and that staff now help families gather records and paperwork more quickly. She said the home averages about 45 deaths per year, residents stay about 2.5 years on average, and the vacancy rate is around 35 percent, though some positions are intentionally held open until census grows. She attributed staffing shortages largely to retention problems, citing higher private-sector pay, bonuses, and more flexible hours, and said the home has a handful of contract nurses, mainly on second shift. On finances, she said pharmacy services are contracted, the VA reimburses some medication costs based on disability, and the home is pursuing federal changes to cover high-cost medications and catastrophic disability cases. The discussion also covered the home’s off-book donation account, which is overseen by the state and transferred into the state system when funds are spent.

Transcript Highlights:

• compared with nursing home care.
• I'm a registered nurse, an owner of a home care agency with over 35 years' experience in the home care
• services for individuals who are nursing home eligible and 50,000. care and in-home services for individuals
• who are nursing home eligible and 55 years of age or older.
• This can make the difference between living at home or being forced into a nursing home.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Health Care Financing

Summary: The Joint Committee on Health Care Financing held a public hearing focused on two broad sets of issues: home- and community-based care, and school-based Medicaid reimbursement. In the morning session, legislators and advocates testified on bills affecting children and disabled enrollees, including proposals to clarify rate-setting for home health and home care services (H. 767/S. 870), allow family members and spouses to be paid caregivers under MassHealth (H. 1394/S. 886 and related bills), extend MassHealth coverage for applied behavior analysis and other therapies beyond age 21 for adults with autism and developmental disabilities (H. 1351/S. 871), and protect medically fragile children by improving access to continuous skilled nursing. In the later portion of the hearing, testimony shifted to a bill to improve MassHealth reimbursement for schools (S. 862), with speakers describing the school mental health crisis and the need to reinvest Medicaid funds directly into school health services. Witnesses on the home care rate-setting bill said current reimbursement methods are opaque and outdated, contributing to workforce shortages, unfilled shifts, long waitlists, and patients remaining in hospitals longer than necessary. Home care providers and trade groups argued the bill would not set rates directly but would require more transparent methodology and fuller consideration of real costs such as wages, benefits, taxes, training, and technology. On caregiver bills, many family members and provider organizations described the financial and emotional strain of caring for disabled or medically fragile relatives, especially when parents, spouses, or guardians are barred from being paid caregivers. They argued the bills would recognize existing unpaid care, help families remain at home, and reduce reliance on more expensive institutional care. Advocates for adult ABA coverage said services remain medically necessary after age 21 and that ending coverage at that age creates an inequitable “cliff” for MassHealth members compared with those with private insurance. For the PACE/community care bill, elder law attorneys and PACE advocates said current MassHealth income rules force some older adults with modestly higher incomes to spend down to $542 per month, making community living unrealistic and pushing people toward nursing homes. They supported changing the eligibility structure to a premium-based approach that would allow more people to remain in the community. On the school Medicaid bill, advocates said schools are providing effective, preventive mental health care, but reimbursement currently flows to municipalities rather than directly back to school health budgets, limiting districts’ ability to hire and retain staff. No votes were taken during the hearing; the committee heard testimony and several witnesses requested favorable reports on the bills.

Transcript Highlights:

• SB 1302 also streamlines the renewal application for nurse practitioners and certified nurse midwives
• And allows NPs, nurse practitioners, to meet requirements for recognition as a 103 or 104 nurse practitioner
• or in the smaller home and community-based settings.
• their home.
• , to harden their home.

Committee: Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development

Transcript Highlights:

• We have a situation where three nursing homes have had reduced funding, and like I said, I'll have the
• c><00:01:21.040><c> affected</c><00:01:21.520><c> by</c> nursing homes um that were affected by nursing
• c><00:03:09.159><c> of</c><00:03:09.360><c> situation</c> nursing homes in this kind of situation nursing
• </c><00:04:12.840><c> home</c> there is what we call the nursing home there is what we call the nursing
• </c> in the nursing home rate when these in the nursing home rate when these things<00:04:33.680><c>

Bills: HF958 , HF688 , HF702

Committee: House Human Services Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm Secretary for the Arizona Board of Nursing and an administrator of nursing education.
• We always have run a surplus at the Board of Nursing from the nursing fees, so whatever it takes to get
• fees there is funding for that we always have run a surplus at the board of nursing from the nursing
• The Board of Nursing must promptly process complaints to protect both the public and the nurse.
• actions on nurses within our state.

Summary: The committee took up House Bill 2308, which would prohibit a dental insurer or its holding company from owning interests in dental practices regulated by the Arizona Board of Dental Examiners. The sponsor and Arizona Dental Association argued the bill is meant to prevent vertical integration and insurer control over provider care, while Delta Dental opposed it, saying the measure would block nonprofit insurers from investing in clinics for indigent care and create divestment burdens. After discussion of possible exemptions and market-share caps, the committee passed HB 2308 on a 7-0 vote. The committee then considered House Bill 4001, as amended, which creates a licensing and enforcement framework for alternative nicotine products beginning in 2028, increases penalties for sales to minors, restricts youth-oriented marketing, and licenses manufacturers and distributors. Supporters, including the sponsor, Border Security Alliance, Arizona Petroleum Marketers Association, and Vapor Technology Association, said the bill would improve supply-chain transparency and help curb illegal products and youth vaping. Opponents, including the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, argued it should instead use a full tobacco retail licensing model and that the bill’s enforcement structure lacks sufficient resources. The committee adopted the amendment and passed the bill 6-1. House Bill 2873, as amended, was also approved unanimously. The strike-everything amendment allows a person or organization that filed a city or town referendum petition to withdraw it before ballot qualification, applies the rule retroactively to withdrawals filed on or after January 1, 2026, and bars tallying or canvassing votes for referenda with a withdrawal notice. The sponsor described it as a common-sense governance fix, and the committee gave it a 7-0 do-pass recommendation. The committee next heard House Bill 2408, which revises Arizona Board of Nursing complaint procedures, confidentiality, investigation timelines, expungement authority, and related disciplinary processes. Nursing board officials opposed parts of the bill, warning that changes to nursing education oversight and tighter deadlines could weaken patient safety and increase costs and liability, while the Arizona Nurses Association and several nurses supported the bill as a way to prioritize serious complaints, improve timeliness, and allow expungement in appropriate cases. After adopting the amendment, the committee passed HB 2408 on a 5-2 vote. The committee also passed House Bill 2342, which limits HOA restrictions on backyard shade structures, and House Bill 2323, which extends Arizona’s motor vehicle lemon law protections to lessees, both by unanimous votes. Finally, the committee began hearing House Bill 4010 on creating a Board of Genetic Counselors, with the sponsor and supporters describing it as a licensure and patient-safety measure; the transcript ends during testimony on that bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• And as a family that had five home births with the traditional midwives and then a certified nurse midwife
• As a family that had five home births with the traditional midwives and then a certified nurse midwife
• As a family that had five home births with the traditional midwives and then a certified nurse midwife
• As a family that had five home births with the traditional midwives and then a certified nurse midwife
• And as a family that had five home births with the traditional midwives and then a certified nurse midwife

Committee: Senate Health and Human Services

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm a real nurse and a nurse practitioner.
• Practitioner Council representation, and deans of colleges of nursing. ...nurse practitioner council
• that we feel for our local nurses.
• I've been a nurse for 40 years.
• Do we have people applying to nursing Do we have people applying to nursing schools in New Mexico who

Summary: The committee first took up House Bill 279, on a committee substitute that narrowed the bill to privacy and safety protections for reproductive and gender-affirming health care. The substitute would strengthen limits on disclosure of protected health information, restrict geofencing around care facilities with exceptions for security and research, clarify emergency stabilization obligations under state licensing law, and allow abortion-medication labels to omit a prescriber’s personal name and address. Supporters including ACOG, the ACLU, the League of Women Voters, the Health Care Authority, and advocacy groups said the bill protects patients and providers from surveillance, harassment, and out-of-state investigations. Some members raised concerns about HIPAA, research data, and whether the bill could go too far, but the substitute passed 6-2. The committee then approved House Memorial 1, which asks the Legislative Finance Committee to study whether a constitutional amendment should create an independent commission to manage CYFD. Supporters said the department needs a comprehensive structural review, while opponents argued New Mexico already has enough reports and should act on existing recommendations instead of commissioning another study. House Memorial 31 also passed; it directs the Health Care Authority to re-evaluate a rule limiting home health agencies to serving patients within 100 miles of their licensed locations, in light of access needs in remote areas such as the Navajo Nation and anticipated demand from uranium workers. House Bill 306, dealing with facility fees, was amended by substitute to prohibit such fees for certain preventive services, vaccinations, telehealth, and some services provided in vehicles, while exempting rural hospitals and requiring notice to patients. Hospital representatives opposed the bill, warning it would add financial pressure and could still be passed through to patients or premiums, while insurers, retiree advocates, and consumer groups supported it as a way to curb confusing and costly add-on charges. The committee also advanced House Memorial 36 to create an unfunded nursing shortage task force focused on graduation rates, retention, and barriers to training, and House Memorial 35, which would ask HCA to seek a Medicaid state plan amendment for pediatric palliative care. Supporters of the palliative care memorial described major access gaps for children with complex conditions, especially in rural areas, and the memorial passed after testimony from a rural pediatric hospice nurse and committee discussion about the small number of eligible children and the burden on families.

Transcript Highlights:

• for the home care nurses working in our home.
• for the home care nurses working in our home.
• for the home care nurses working in our home.
• with the market, it's not financially sustainable for the home care nurses working in our home.
• </c><01:32:30.400><c> home</c> assisted living and nursing home assisted living and nursing home facilities

Committee: Senate Human Services

Transcript Highlights:

• And so I found out about a congregate care home that I was able to get him out of a nursing home.
• I found out about a congregate care home that I was able to get him out of a nursing home because this
• He's in a wheelchair that they didn't allow him to have at the nursing home.
• This was Trevor laying in the nursing home before he went to New Start.
• I'm representing a coalition of nursing home dental providers.

Transcript Highlights:

• flight nurses.
• duties in addition to nursing duties.
• Although these nurses returning home were greeted as heroines, many faced challenges reintegrating.
• nursing.
• Corps and the Navy Nurse Corps who stood by our... ...women in the Army Nurse Corps and the Navy Nurse

Committee: Senate Military and Veterans Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• So total statewide, we've got 289 nursing homes.
• So total statewide, we've got 289 nursing homes.
• In terms of nursing home complaints received in February, it was 148, and yet we still completed 96 nursing
• So I'll stop there on nursing homes.
• Are the inspectors for the nursing homes currently registered nurses?

Committee: House Health and Human Services

Transcript Highlights:

• flight nurses.
• duties in addition to nursing duties.
• Although these nurses returning home were greeted as heroines, many faced challenges reintegrating.
• nursing.
• The World War II nurses transformed nursing.

Summary: The Senate Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs heard two resolutions honoring veterans. S.J.R. 14, authored by Senator Gabaldon, urges California’s congressional delegation to support federal legislation awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to members of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps and Navy Nurse Corps who served in World War II. Brigadier General Ruth Wong testified in strong support, describing the nurses’ frontline service, harsh conditions, discrimination, POW experiences, and long-overlooked sacrifices. Senators praised the measure and noted the historical significance of recognizing these women’s service. The committee also heard S.J.R. 17, presented by Senator Choi, which honors Republic of Korea veterans who fought alongside American troops in Vietnam and later became U.S. citizens. The resolution urges Congress and the President to allow states to extend burial and memorial benefits in state veterans’ cemeteries to these veterans without jeopardizing federal cemetery funding. No opposition testimony was offered, and senators emphasized the importance of recognizing allied service members who fought with U.S. forces. Both resolutions were moved on call and later adopted by the committee on 5-0 votes. The chair thanked members for supporting veterans and closed the hearing after announcing the final votes.

Transcript Highlights:

• The New Hampshire Board of Nursing defines a school nurse as a school nurse should have a broad working
• :32.199><c> nurse</c> Board of Nursing defines a school nurse Board of Nursing defines a school nurse
• </c> pediatric nurses or not pediatric nurses pediatric nurses or not pediatric nurses but<02:02:29.079
• nurse that nurse is or 504 they need a nurse that nurse is not<02:06:07.679><c> a</c><02:06:07.840><c
• </c> the Nurses Association the school Nurses the Nurses Association the school Nurses Association<02

Committee: Senate Education

Transcript Highlights:

• I found out about a congregate care that I was able to get him out of a nursing home.
• Sean was able to get him out of a nursing home because this is available.
• He's in a wheelchair that they didn't allow him to have at the nursing home.
• This was Trevor laying in the nursing home before he went to New Start.
• I'm representing a coalition of nursing home dental providers.

Summary: The Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Health began with a hearing on the impacts of H.R. 1 on California health programs, focusing first on reproductive health state investments. HCAI outlined five state-funded reproductive health programs created after Dobbs, including uncompensated care, practical support, capital and clinical infrastructure, and workforce programs. Essential Access Health and Planned Parenthood testified that these funds have served hundreds of thousands of patients, but warned that the uncompensated care program is fully awarded and needs renewal, and that Title X and Medicaid-related federal uncertainty continues to threaten access. Members questioned who the uncompensated care program serves, why Medi-Cal covers a large share of abortions, and whether Planned Parenthood could expand prenatal services; public commenters urged continued support for reproductive health access. The committee then took up long-term care services and supports, starting with the HCBA and Assisted Living Waiver programs. DHCS reported large wait lists for both programs and said enrollment is limited by workforce and provider capacity, while LAO noted that increasing slots alone may not increase access without additional programmatic changes. Members pressed the department on whether more slots should be added given the lower cost of home- and community-based care compared with skilled nursing facilities, and public testimony argued that the wait lists should be reduced and that staffing concerns do not fully explain unused capacity. The committee also heard testimony on congregate living health facilities, where providers and a patient family described the homes as critical, lower-cost alternatives to nursing facilities for younger, medically complex people. Witnesses requested short-term bridge funding, while DHCS said it is proposing to transition CLFs into a managed care benefit by January 1, 2028, which would remove caps and expand access statewide. The final long-term care topic was PACE. DHCS explained that it has paused new PACE applications and service expansions for at least two years to reassess oversight capacity and develop a statewide strategic growth framework, while existing programs continue operating. CalPACE supported the pause as a planning measure but asked for four additional state nurse positions to reduce delays in level-of-care determinations and speed enrollment for frail older adults. Members shared personal stories about how PACE has helped family members and asked how the state will meet growing demand; DHCS said stakeholder engagement will begin later in the year and that some existing applications already in process will continue. Public commenters broadly supported PACE, HCBA, and CLF funding requests. The hearing then moved to the Department of Health Care Services’ 2026-27 Medi-Cal budget and related trailer bills. DHCS said Medi-Cal spending has grown due to coverage expansions, higher acuity, rising utilization, and especially pharmacy costs, and it described proposals to extend the current skilled nursing facility financing framework for one year while the state develops a new value-based payment strategy. LAO said most recent Medi-Cal spending growth has been driven more by higher per-enrollee costs than by caseload growth, with pharmacy spending growing especially quickly, and recommended better and more timely data to analyze the drivers. Members expressed concern about the rapid rise in Medi-Cal spending and asked for more detail on the largest cost increases.

Transcript Highlights:

• home and meets a nursing home's requirements for entrance, but that nursing facility level of care is
• ><00:36:01.119><c> individual's</c> nursing home and meets an individual's nursing home and meets an
• </c><00:44:29.359><c> need</c> the nursing home but they still need the nursing home but they still need
• She had, you go into a nursing home.
• c><01:23:05.440><c> want</c> to go to a nursing home or do you want to go to a nursing home or do you

Summary: The committee opened by adopting its mission and priorities for reviewing Kentucky’s 1915(c) home- and community-based services waiver wait lists, including evaluating current capacity and bottlenecks, comparing other states’ practices, and considering a tiered priority system based on urgency of need. The chair also announced that, although public comment was not on the agenda, the committee would allow 30 minutes for comments and asked speakers to keep remarks brief. He noted that public comment would not continue in the smaller subcommittees after this meeting, but could still be made at the larger MOAB meetings or by email. Department for Medicaid Services officials Leslie Hoffman and Carmen Hancock then gave a detailed overview of Kentucky’s waiver programs: the acquired brain injury waiver, ABI long-term care waiver, home and community-based waiver, Model 2, Michelle P. waiver, Supports for Community Living waiver, and the newly approved child waiver. They explained each program’s eligibility and level-of-care requirements, described funded, filled, allocated, reserved, and available slots, and said the state had already added new slots from House Bill 500. They emphasized that available slots can coexist with a wait list because of reserved slots for money-follows-the-person transitions, emergency slots, annual slot churn, and waiver-year reconciliation. They also reported that the unduplicated wait list total was 18,948, and gave current wait-time figures by waiver, noting that the numbers change constantly. Members asked about how level-of-care determinations are made, whether all people on the wait list have been assessed, and whether undocumented individuals appear in the counts. The department said full level-of-care assessments are done only when a person is moving off the wait list into a reserved slot, and that only Medicaid-eligible individuals can reach the wait list. Senators and representatives also pressed on the meaning of “churn,” why slots cannot be reissued immediately when someone leaves, and whether people who receive even a small amount of service keep their slot for the rest of the waiver year under CMS rules. Officials said that once a participant receives service during the waiver year, the slot generally cannot be reassigned until the next waiver year, even if the person later disengages. The department also presented county distribution, annual member growth, average total cost per member, and total annual waiver expenditures, saying fiscal year 2025 closed at about $1.8 billion in waiver services. In response to questions, officials said they would provide additional churn data for other waivers, including Michelle P., and would look into the average wait-time calculations requested by members. No formal votes or legislative actions were taken during the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:54:22.680><c> home</c> 2023 um so what is the nursing home 2023 um so what is the nursing home
• </c><00:57:36.359><c> home</c> there adopt minimum nursing home there adopt minimum nursing home employment
• </c><01:04:15.720><c> home</c> instance all uh nursing home instance all uh nursing home administrators
• </c> works at a at a nursing home home um and works at a at a nursing home home um and long-term<01:13
• homes across the state is $20,000 on a small nursing home.

Bills: HF23 , HF1355

Committee: House Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• Additionally, the bill aligns Florida law with federal regulations, ensuring that nursing homes provide
• care nurse practitioner.
• I'm a family nurse practitioner and psychiatric nurse practitioner.
• Erin Ballas with the Florida Nurses Association, waving in support.
• This amendment clarifies the responsibilities of the home health agencies when nursing services are ordered

Summary: The committee took up a large health and human services agenda and first approved HB 711, the Spectrum Alert bill, which would create a statewide alert system for missing autistic children and require FDLE to coordinate training with state and local agencies. The measure drew a supportive waiver from the Florida Smart Justice Alliance and passed unanimously, 24-0, reported favorably. Members then considered CS for HB 229 on health facilities, which modernizes the Health Facilities Authority Act to allow additional nonprofit health system structures to use tax-exempt financing. Two amendments were adopted: one requiring advance notice, public hearings, and stakeholder notifications before a nonprofit hospital closure, and another removing a property tax exemption for a nonprofit hospital that closes and fails to maintain emergency services for 120 days, applied retroactively to January 1, 2025. The Florida Hospital Association opposed the amendments, citing workforce and nonprofit-status concerns, but the bill as amended passed 24-0. The committee also approved CS for HB 1405 on juvenile justice status offenders, expanding early truancy intervention, parent involvement, and shelter placement review timelines; it passed 24-0. CS for HB 27, joining the Social Work Licensure Interstate Compact, and its linked public records bill CS for HB 29 both passed unanimously after supportive testimony from several advocacy and business groups. The committee then debated HB 111 on out-of-network referrals and HB 1083 on patient access to records. HB 111 would require referring practitioners to inform patients in writing when a referral is out of network and to apply out-of-network payments to deductibles; it drew opposition from medical groups over administrative burden and patient-care concerns, but passed 17-8. HB 1083 would shorten the time for producing medical records to 14 working days and standardize access rules, with amendments clarifying portal access and delaying the effective date to January 1, 2026; despite opposition from some health information and provider groups over HIPAA and access concerns, it passed 19-7 as amended. Later, the committee approved HB 883, allowing autonomous practice for psychiatric nurse practitioners with the required credentials, after strong support from nurse practitioner groups and opposition from psychiatric and medical associations; it passed 23-3. HB 1297, which aligns Florida’s electronic prescribing exceptions with federal law and removes several state exemptions, passed 19-7 despite opposition from hospice, emergency physician, rheumatology, and medical groups concerned about paper prescriptions in emergencies and hard-to-find medications. HB 1353 on home health care services and CS for HB 989 on foster home licensure transfers both passed unanimously after supportive amendments. The committee also heard HB 1505 on parental rights, which would require written parental consent for many health care services, surveys, and biofeedback devices for minors and expand parental access to records; the bill drew extensive support testimony but also questions and concerns about confidentiality, abuse reporting, and existing exceptions, and the transcript ended before a final vote on that bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• and Rachel Hetzner from the Michigan Council of Nurse Practitioners.
• I am here today representing the Michigan Council of Nurse Practitioners and nurse practitioners across
• I am a family nurse practitioner and an active member of A&A Michigan.
• So while the homes and the to that neighborhood that was destroyed.
• A lot of the homes that were demolished were never replaced with anything.

Committee: Senate Transportation and Infrastructure

Summary: The Senate Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure met with a quorum present and adopted the June 16, 2026 minutes. The committee first took up House Bill 5644, which would allow nurse practitioners, physical therapists, and occupational therapists to certify applications for disability windshield placards and disability license plates. The sponsor and witnesses from the nursing profession said the bill restores a practice that had worked for years, reduces delays and extra costs for patients, and improves access, especially in rural and underserved areas. A Department of State representative explained the issue arose after an Auditor General review found the statute was unclear. The bill was reported to the floor on a 10-0 vote. The committee then heard Senate Bill 791, which would designate a portion of I-475 in Genesee County as the St. John Street Community Memorial Highway. Senator Cherry and representatives of the St. John Street Historical Committee described the history of the St. John Street neighborhood in Flint, its displacement by urban renewal and highway construction, and the effort to memorialize the community’s cultural significance and trauma. No members asked questions, and the bill was reported to the floor unanimously, 10-0. House Bill 4415, previously heard by the committee, was also reported to the floor without further testimony. The committee then considered Senate Bill 959, which had a new S-2 substitute. Senator Klinefelt explained the substitute as a compromise that reorganizes rail detector regulations and changes distance and speed thresholds for Class 1, 2, and 3 rail lines. The substitute was adopted 10-0. After additional comments from Senator McBroom opposing the bill due to concerns about impacts on Upper Peninsula commerce and rail operations, the committee reported the S-2 version of Senate Bill 959 to the floor by a 6-4 vote. The committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Over half of Texas nursing homes are rated one or two stars. by CMS, which means below average or much
• We've received billions of dollars. put into the nursing home industry over the course of COVID years
• Proper staffing is the single best determinant of good quality nursing home care.
• He's a CPA for the Nursing Home Industry. Mr. John, Eddie, Eddie's next.
• Home Providers, whose members operate over 600 of the 1,200 skilled nursing homes in Texas.

Committee: Senate Health & Human Services