Transcript Highlights:

• House Bill by Representative Boyer, payment of certain claims; certain injury claims; limitations, 118
• House Bill by Representative Boyer, payment of certain claims; certain injury claims; limitations, 118
• House Bill by Representative Shinaver, workers' compensation, claim for benefits, petition for a claim
• , contents of a petition, disputed claims, 456.
• House Bill 526 by Representative Dickerson, payment of certain claims; damage caps. Civil Law.

Summary: The House convened with a quorum, received and accepted multiple resignation notices from members representing Districts 37, 39, 60, 69, 97, and 100, and then recognized the election and qualification of the members-elect who filled those vacancies: Doyle Boudreau, Reese Broussard, Chasity Verrett-Martinez, and Edwin Murray. Each member-elect was sworn in, and the House also appointed committees to notify the Senate and the governor that it was ready to conduct business for the 2026 regular session. The chamber then handled a large number of procedural actions related to prefiled legislation. By motion and without objection, the House suspended rules to refer prefile bills to committee and introduced a broad slate of House bills and resolutions. Topics included the state budget and appropriations, retirement system changes, carbon capture and sequestration, criminal justice and bail, public safety, education, health care, local government matters, transportation, and several memorial or commemorative resolutions. Several resolutions and bills were noted as lying over, and some prefiled bills were withdrawn from the files. The House also received a Senate message that SCR 1 had been adopted, and the resolution was taken up without objection. The chamber then recessed for a joint session with the Senate to hear the governor’s address and a presentation honoring Technical Sergeant Adam W. Brister with the Distinguished Flying Cross. In his remarks, Governor Jeff Landry highlighted his administration’s priorities, including education, tax reform, workforce development, health and nutrition, insurance reform, transportation infrastructure, fiscal discipline, and criminal justice reform, while urging support for his agenda and several related bills and constitutional amendments.

Transcript Highlights:

• And unlike EPA's Clean School Bus Program, Ecology was actually an eligible applicant here.
• Energy Transformation Act and working with utilities on that, as well as our Clean Buildings Team, .
• ..Energy Transformation Act and working with utilities on that, as well as our Clean Buildings Team,
• Trucks rules, which are for, um... ...the Advanced Clean Trucks rules, which are suspended under this
• More specifically, the goal of ZAP grants is to expand access to clean fuel transportation options by

Committee: House Transportation

Keywords: 904, all

Transcript Highlights:

• My name is Sophia Ficoe, policy advocate with the Coalition for Clean Air.
• And there's no doubt that this is a clean bill. This is the right thing to really do.
• Bill McGovern with the Coalition for Clean Air in opposition.
• Bring comments into ARB clean truck checks. This is a simple bill about low-use vehicles.
• According to ARB, less than 1% of trucks fail the clean air check.

Committee: Senate Transportation

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And it has to do with the clean water fund making single appropriations, and this property tax credit
• So it has to affect the general fund and not something like the clean water fund. six um uh requires
• </c><00:04:00.239><c> water</c> u not something like the clean water u not something like the clean water
• Well, back to the Clean Water versus general fund discussion.
• or to make appropriations and develop a base from the Clean Water Fund for programs.

Committee: Senate Taxes

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The federal government will institute what they call KPIs, or minimum requirements, of claims that can
• The federal government will institute what they call KPIs, or minimum requirements, of claims that can
• that are doing manual entry, and so we're trying to increase the number of electronically submitted claims
• does allow us to do corrective action plans with those providers if they are doing too many manual claims

Summary: The committee opened with prayer and approved the minutes. It then heard an emergency rule from the Department of Human Services on hospital-based residential treatment for adolescents with substance use disorders. Paula Stone explained that the rule would allow Medicaid reimbursement for residential treatment services provided in a hospital unit for ages 12 and up, with Unity Hospital in Searcy expected to be the first provider. Members asked about licensure, length of stay, and cost; Stone said stays would be determined by ASAM criteria rather than a fixed cap, the projected rate submitted to CMS was $850 per day, and the unit would have 24 beds split between boys and girls with an on-site school. The committee next considered an electronic visit verification rule for in-home personal care, attendant care, respite care, and home health services. Elizabeth Pittman said the update was intended to keep the state compliant with federal EVV requirements, improve auditing and corrective action authority, and encourage more electronic claims submissions. She also noted the rule would remove the W-9 submission requirement for provider enrollment to allow IRS verification. Members asked whether EVV was federally required and were told Arkansas uses an open system that allows providers to use the state option or a third-party vendor. After the presentations, the committee took no further action beyond noting that the EVV rule stood reviewed. The meeting then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• The federal government will institute what they call KPIs, or minimum requirements, of claims that can
• that are doing manual entry, and so we're trying to increase the number of electronically submitted claims
• does allow us to do corrective action plans with those providers if they're doing too many manual claims
• does allow us to do corrective action plans with those providers if they are doing too many manual claims

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The Claims Review Litigation Reports Oversight Subcommittee met on Tuesday, April 14th.
• The Claims Review Litigation Reports Oversight Subcommittee met on Tuesday, April 14th, reviewed two
• litigation settlements from the Department of Corrections, and affirmed the ruling of the Claims Commission
• as to one denied and dismissed claim, as noted in the report.

Committee: All JOINT BUDGET COMMITTEE

Summary: The committee first took up several subcommittee reports. The Claims Review Litigation Reports Oversight Subcommittee report was adopted after noting two Department of Corrections settlement reviews and one affirmed denial/dismissal by the Claims Commission. The JBC Personnel Subcommittee report was also adopted, covering governor’s letters and amendments, with items related to the Auditor of State and Lieutenant Governor sent back for further review and one Lieutenant Governor amendment not passing. Next, the peer review subcommittee report was adopted after discussion of various temporary appropriations, ARPA and infrastructure-related appropriations, reserve fund transfers, and a resource reallocation. Two DHS-related items were held, including a discretionary grants item and a contract with DHS and EMS/LINQ; one hold was later released after additional information was provided. A member asked about returned ARPA funds, and staff explained the money was being returned to the federal government because it was not fully expended within the federal time frame. The committee then discussed several bills and amendments with special language, including Senate Bills 63, 67, and 73 and House Bills 1089, 1090, and 1093, along with amendments to the Department of Health, the Office of the Treasurer, and the State Board of Election Commission. Leadership warned that holds on bills should be resolved by the following Thursday or be released, and members were encouraged to work with agencies and notify leadership if agencies were not responsive. The meeting then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• The Claims Review Litigation Reports Oversight Subcommittee met on Tuesday, April 14th.
• The Claims Review Litigation Reports Oversight Subcommittee met on Tuesday, April 14th, reviewed two
• litigation settlements from the Department of Corrections, and affirmed the ruling of the Claims Commission
• as to one denied and dismissed claim, as noted in the report.

Committee: All JOINT BUDGET COMMITTEE

Summary: The committee heard several subcommittee reports and adopted them. The Claims Review Litigation Reports Oversight Subcommittee reported on two Department of Corrections litigation settlements and one denied and dismissed claim, and its report was adopted. The JBC Personnel Subcommittee reported on Governor’s letters and amendments; all items were released back to the Joint Budget Committee as adopted except item 3, the Lieutenant Governor’s Office amendment, and items 3 and 4 were sent back for further review. The peer review subcommittee reported approval of several temporary appropriations, ARPA and IIJA appropriations, reserve fund transfers, and a resource reallocation. Two items were held: DHS K-2 discretionary grants and an L-4 DHS/EMS contract; after additional information was provided, the hold on the contract was released and the report was adopted. A member asked about returned ARPA funds, and staff explained the money was being returned to the federal government because it was not fully expended within the federal time frame. The committee also referred several measures to special language, including Senate Bills 63, 67, and 73 and House Bills 1089, 1090, and 1093. Special-language amendments were noted for the Department of Health, the Office of the Treasurer, and the State Board of Election Commission. The chair urged members to resolve any remaining holds by the following Thursday or they would be released, and the meeting adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Claims to this fund have increased in recent years.
• claim of $16,000 that was delayed into fiscal year 2026 due to a lack of appropriation.
• The trend of an increasing number of claims is expected to continue as program awareness continues to
• Handling of a claim.
• And so it was initially geared toward insurance professionals, those who are actually handling the claim

Summary: The committee heard budget reviews for the Industrial Commission, the Public Utilities Commission, and the Secretary of State. For the Industrial Commission, analysts and agency staff described the agency’s dedicated funds and FY27 requests, including ongoing support for the IRIS technology system, additional funding for the annual seminar and CWICS training, an increase for the Peace Officer and Detention Officer Temporary Disability Fund due to rising claims, and replacement IT hardware. Members asked about the IRIS maintenance contract, the seminar pricing and audit finding on the miscellaneous revenue fund, and the crime victims compensation program and its general fund support. Agency staff said the IRIS support is still being provided by an outside vendor because OITS is not yet able to assume the work, that seminar and training spending will increase rather than fees being reduced, and that the disability fund increase is ongoing. The committee also discussed concerns that reductions in the crime victims compensation general fund appropriation could affect services, though staff said dedicated and federal funds could help cover shortfalls if needed. The Public Utilities Commission presentation focused on its single utilities regulation program, dedicated funding sources, and FY26 and FY27 budget items. Analysts reviewed the new workload created by the wildfire standard of care law enacted in 2025, which added staff and one-time funding in FY26, and noted a FY27 request for IT hardware. Questions centered on why indirect cost recovery spending was far below the amount budgeted; the administrator said the variance was largely due to timing and the fact that rent was not paid from that fund at the time. A senator praised the commission’s work implementing the wildfire legislation. The Secretary of State budget review covered elections, business services, the Commission on Uniform State Laws, and the Idaho Code Commission. Analysts noted the office’s general fund budget, the large FY24 election system upgrade, and FY27 requests for $350,000 ongoing for a voter pamphlet and guide, a $20,000 ongoing transfer for post-election audit overtime, and replacement technology items; a reappropriation item for a double-filled business director position was later withdrawn. Secretary of State Phil McGrane said the office is handling sharply increased business filings, generating more revenue than its budget and returning excess revenue to the state, but also facing longer processing times. He defended the ongoing voter pamphlet request as tied to recurring election requirements and said the overtime request reflects election-cycle workload. He also said the office is using outside vendor support for election IT, is considering AI tools cautiously, and would not be materially affected if ballot counting methods changed, since counties handle tabulation. The committee ended with procedural remarks about upcoming budget-setting work, a FY26 rescission bill still being processed, and a reminder that alternate motions must be submitted by 5 p.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• Orlando Health sued Liberty Health Share for unpaid claims for over a million dollars a couple years
• I don't deal with the claims every day.
• The behavior does not distinguish between catastrophic and non-catastrophic claims.
• As far as the estimate just being the work product, there's other claim journals, conversation, diary
• I myself have been a victim of an insurance claim. I've been through the process myself. I know it.

Committee: Senate Banking and Insurance

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• things</c><00:04:40.080><c> we</c><00:04:40.320><c> need</c><00:04:40.400><c> to</c><00:04:40.560><c> clean
• </c><00:04:40.720><c> up</c> there's some things we need to clean up there's some things we need to clean
• next year<00:04:44.160><c> that</c><00:04:44.400><c> we</c><00:04:44.639><c> can</c><00:04:44.720><c> clean
• that</c><00:04:45.120><c> up</c><00:04:45.360><c> if</c><00:04:45.600><c> need</c> year that we can clean
• that up if need year that we can clean that up if need be. be. be.

Committee: House Small Business & Information Technology

Keywords: Meeting Start: 00:00 Roll Call: 00:28 HB 692 Discussion: 01:11 HB 692 Voting: 05:01, 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, SB 321 deals with the Alabama Dracle Cleaning Response Trust Fund and Cleaning Response Trust Fund
• This is a little old bill about dry cleaning.
• Under the existing law, the Alabama Dry Clean Environmental Response Alabama Dry Clean Environmental
• the investigation, assessment, and remediation of environmental contamination caused by the dry cleaning

Bills: HB407 , SB306 , SB320 , SB321

Committee: Senate County and Municipal Government

Keywords: local redevelopment, tax payments, transient occupancy, state revenue, authority powers, transparency, discretionary accounts, government accountability, public access, online publication, liquefied petroleum gas, safety regulations, public gathering places, cylinder storage, proximity regulations, drycleaning, environmental remediation, pollution, hazardous waste, trust fund

Transcript Highlights:

• I mean, claims per year is about $4 billion a year in claims that we pay out, yes.
• A year, the claims costs that we're covering.
• I'm just talking about claims cost is roughly $8 billion per year.
• The agency is requesting an additional nine claims benefit advisors to support VA claims submissions,
• with each of their claims benefit cases.

Summary: The Senate Finance Committee heard budget presentations for the Texas Historical Commission, the Pension Review Board, the Employees Retirement System (ERS), Social Security and benefit replacement pay, the Texas Emergency Services Retirement System (TESSRS), and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). The Legislative Budget Board outlined recommendations and major changes for each agency, including reductions tied to one-time projects at the Historical Commission, continued funding for courthouse grants, heritage trails, and Holocaust/genocide education, as well as new or modified riders and capital items. For the pension-related items, LBB described funding changes for PRB, ERS, Social Security, and TESSRS, including ERS health plan cost growth driven largely by pharmacy costs, the status of pension funding reforms, and TESSRS’s request for additional state support to address its unfunded liability and staffing needs. Members asked extensive questions about the Historical Commission’s one-time funding, unexpended balance authority, courthouse preservation, the Presidio La Bahia and National Museum of the Pacific War projects, and coordination of Texas history messaging across sites such as the Alamo, San Jacinto, Washington on the Brazos, and other heritage locations. The Historical Commission chair emphasized heritage tourism, economic development, and the need for continued investment in historic sites, staffing, IT modernization, and vehicles. On the pension items, senators discussed PRB oversight of local systems, including the Dallas police and fire pension situation, and ERS investment returns, benchmark comparisons, and rising health costs. ERS officials said the plan remains well funded overall, noted a 2021 cash balance reform and a planned supplemental legacy payment, and explained that GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro are a major driver of pharmacy spending; they also said the agency is working with the Texas Pharmacy Initiative and that rebates are contractually returned to ERS. For TESSRS, LBB and agency staff said the system serves volunteer and part-paid emergency personnel, is facing an infinite amortization period, and is requesting additional appropriations, staffing, and IT funding, along with a statutory change to allow an actuarially determined state contribution. The agency said it may otherwise need to cut benefits for volunteer firefighters. For CPRIT, LBB reported about $600 million in recommended funding for the biennium and a 10-FTE increase, while the agency described its $6 billion voter-approved program, $3.75 billion in grants awarded to date, and $10.4 million in revenue sharing since 2011. CPRIT’s only exceptional item was a request for a 10% salary increase for two exempt positions. No committee votes or formal actions were taken in the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• We have inpatient and outpatient claims, which account for $688 million.
• Just one thing when I was looking over the per diem claims and fees, Exhibit B1 that you provided, that
• take it back to our data team to see how they pulled this and whether they can tie it back to the claims
• And that will only be applicable to inpatient and outpatient claims. Right. Yes, sir.
• I just wanted to be clear because the cost settlements and the UPL are not tied to an individual claim

Committee: All ALC-HOSPITAL, MEDICAID, & DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES STUDY SUBCOMMITTEE

Summary: The subcommittee met to review Department of Human Services hospital payments in Arkansas Medicaid, with DHS Secretary Janet Mann and Deputy Secretary Misty Eubanks presenting first, followed by Arkansas Hospital Association Executive Vice President Jody Ann Tritt and a brief comment from Arkansas Children’s. DHS outlined the main hospital payment streams: fee-for-service per diem payments, upper payment limit (UPL) supplemental payments, cost settlements, and smaller payments such as graduate medical education and disproportionate share hospital funds. Members asked for plain-language explanations of cost settlements, why per diem rates vary by hospital type, and why UPL applies to private hospitals. DHS said cost settlements and UPL are mechanisms to help offset Medicaid underpayment, with SFY 2025 hospital payments totaling hundreds of millions of dollars and no general revenue used for supplemental payments beyond the state share funded through hospital assessments and related financing structures. Committee members focused heavily on whether Arkansas hospitals are adequately reimbursed and why rural hospitals struggle. Tritt explained that critical access hospitals, rural emergency hospitals, PPS hospitals, and specialty hospitals operate under different federal and state rules, and said lower per diem rates for some facilities help with cash flow and later cost settlement adjustments. She said Arkansas hospitals are under financial strain, citing a negative patient services margin statewide and noting that Medicaid, Medicare, and commercial payers all contribute to the problem. She also said the association had just authorized a statewide survey of hospital finances and costs, which she expected would take about a year to complete. A major theme was commercial insurance reimbursement. Tritt argued Arkansas hospitals are paid far less than hospitals in neighboring states even though premiums are similar, and said administrative burdens, prior authorizations, and denials add to the problem. She said hospitals receive about 52 to 53 cents on the dollar for Medicaid costs without UPL and about 78 cents with UPL, still below cost. Members also discussed Medicare wage index issues, Medicare Advantage, and whether hospitals could use technology or alternative arrangements to improve finances. No votes were taken on the hospital presentation. At the end of the meeting, DHS provided a brief update on Living Choices and assisted living reimbursement. Officials said one assisted living facility, Pillars of the Community in Crossett, had announced closure, with nine waiver clients being transitioned to other settings. DHS said the current cost reporting period was underway and that a new rate study could be ready for review before the end of the fiscal year if reports were submitted on time. Members also asked about the broader waiver plan, and DHS said the next waiver iteration would likely be brought back to the committee in the summer.

Transcript Highlights:

• This excludes most young adults and seniors from claiming the credit.
• So the question on the next slide is sort of how to find how many people are eligible but not claiming
• And I... ...people are eligible but not claiming, and how can we close that take-up gap?
• We link together the encrypted versions and are able to then determine who's eligible but not claiming
• So we were able to sort of identify the populations who were eligible for credits and not claiming those

Bills: HB1717 , HB1859

Committee: House Finance

Keywords: affordable housing, sales tax, housing programs, tax incentives, economic development, religious organizations, development, housing opportunities, land use, 904, all

Transcript Highlights:

• these amendments to the Health and Safety Code do not apply to COVID-19 entities that solely conduct claims
• and claim processing on behalf of another.
• I hope that the $10 million in the budget gets done to get to the All Claims item.
• and builds bridges to nowhere, only to know that if they would just have linked that to this All Claims
• So the question is, you talk about the All Claims Database, and I'm very, very familiar with it.

Bills: HB35 , HB138 , HB754 , HB1314 , HB1612 , HB2254 , HB2510 , HB2789 , HB3560 , HB3597 , HB4224 , HB4273 , HB4643 , HB4783 , HB138

Committee: Senate Health & Human Services

Keywords: peer support, first responders, mental health, confidentiality, emergency services, health impact analysis, cost analysis, coverage mandates, health insurance, legislative analysis, health care data, human trafficking, trafficking prevention, medical assistant training, health care facilities, hospital compliance, clinic compliance, anti-retaliation, whistleblower protection, employee reporting

Transcript Highlights:

• of substances such as glutathione or methylobalamine, as many advocates of these substances have claimed
• of substances such as glutathione or methylobalamine, as many advocates of these substances have claimed
• When they do claim heavy emphasis on curing certain pain, things like that, do you look into it or just
• So isn't this your board's responsibility to look into those claims?
• That's not the purview of your authority, and you do not investigate any such claims.

Summary: The joint Assembly and Senate business committees held a sunset review hearing on the California State Board of Pharmacy, with board leadership describing the board’s consumer-protection role and its priorities around access, enforcement, and updating pharmacy law. The board emphasized a proposed shift toward a standard-of-care model for pharmacists, arguing it would reduce rigid protocol requirements and improve access to services such as HIV PrEP/PEP, contraception, and naloxone. Board representatives also discussed pharmacy deserts, possible fee waivers for pharmacies in underserved areas, concerns about payer practices contributing to closures, continuing education audits, and a request to restore more flexibility in licensure decisions and probationary monitoring for applicants with certain criminal histories. A major focus of the hearing was the board’s ongoing compounding regulations, especially the treatment of sterile versus nonsterile compounding and substances such as glutathione and methylcobalamin. The board said the proposal was not a ban on those substances and described the rulemaking as grounded in federal law, USP standards, and public comment, noting the process had gone through multiple modified texts and hearings. Testimony from stakeholders was sharply divided: pharmacists, veterinarians, firefighters, naturopathic doctors, and patient advocates warned the rules were restricting access to compounded medications and harming patients and first responders, while the California Medical Association, psychiatric physicians, and PhRMA raised concerns that the board’s proposals could expand pharmacist authority beyond training, affect physician practice, or create safety risks. Other public comments addressed pharmacy technician ratios, remote processing, flavoring medications, hospital-specific regulation, budget and enforcement transparency, and whether the board should add members with community compounding or pharmacy technician expertise. Committee members also asked about the board’s oversight priorities and the rationale for its standard-of-care proposal. Board staff explained that consumer protection includes education, licensing, policy, and enforcement, with the highest-priority enforcement cases being those posing imminent public harm. After public testimony concluded, the chairs thanked participants and adjourned the sunset review hearing, announcing an immediate transition to the joint informational hearing on the Department of Cannabis Control.

Transcript Highlights:

• And so those just need to be cleaned up and taken out. Okay.
• Okay, and make sure that the cotton is clean and everything like that.
• Okay, and make sure that the cotton is clean and everything like that? No germs, very clean, yeah.
• And with the factor from the clean air that would be switched over, what we figured out earlier through
• So I think that this sets them in a good spot where we can still implement the clean air programs from

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It reflects a bold and practical idea that clean energy should not just be limited to those who can afford
• garden program because it would allow her mom, who then was a renter, to be able to participate in the clean
• 00:02:21.599><c> participate</c><00:02:22.319><c> in</c><00:02:22.560><c> the</c><00:02:22.720><c> clean
• </c> be able to participate in the clean be able to participate in the clean energy<00:02:23.520><c>
• Melissa shone brightly, and her legacy shines brightest with regards to a clean energy future.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• The Clean Fuels Program and comes to Finance from the Environment and Energy Committee.
• carbon intensity scoring methodology for any alternative jet fuel that does not participate in the Clean
• They are a piece of a mosaic to promote clean energy.
• They are a piece of a mosaic to promote clean energy, which is hydrogen fuel.
• Hydrogen is the clean, reliable fuel of the future for semi-trucks, public transportation, fleets for

Bills: HB1983 , HB1974 , HB2334 , HB2367 , HB2650 , HB2655

Committee: House Finance

Keywords: timberland, real estate, excise tax, governmental entities, property taxation, land bank, land banking authority, affordable housing, housing crisis, housing supply, public corporation, public housing authority, nonprofit housing, tax-foreclosed property, blight remediation, redevelopment, anti-displacement, equity, redlining, racial segregation