Transcript Highlights:

• It's a, again, a human services response out of the first response system. 1811 defines co-responders
• I'm their director of housing, health, and human services.
• I'm their director of housing, health, and human services.
• Brooke talked a little bit about the multidisciplinary response from a human services perspective, but
• We provide short-term follow-up services as well, because if we're not providing the follow-up services

Summary: The Community Safety Committee held an interim work session on crisis response, with members and witnesses discussing how Washington can better integrate 911, 988, mobile crisis, co-response, and alternative response models for behavioral health crises in public spaces. Travis Parker opened with an overview of the Sequential Intercept Model and the crisis care continuum, emphasizing early intervention, 988 access, regional coordination, navigators and peer support, and the need for sustainable braided funding. Several Washington witnesses then described current programs and system gaps, including the growth of co-response teams, the importance of integrating 911 and 988 rather than treating them as competing systems, and the need to reduce unnecessary emergency room use and improve first responder wellness and training. City, fire, and crisis-system representatives described local challenges and reforms. Kim Hendrickson of Poulsbo said most crisis calls still come through 911 and urged better coordination among field-based teams, more behavioral health training for fire/EMS, and more alternatives to ER transport. Laura Pippen, a designated crisis responder, described a strained involuntary treatment system, fewer DCRs statewide, difficulty getting law enforcement support for transports, and limited facility capacity, especially for substance use disorder. Jennifer Stuber and South County Fire’s Keith Sharp highlighted workforce training, a crisis responder certificate program, and first responder wellness efforts. Research witnesses Evan Lauder and James Pine said the evidence is still developing but generally supports on-scene resolution, reduced ED transport and detention in some models, and the importance of clear dispatch protocols, coordination, and ongoing evaluation. Dispatch and program operators then gave examples of how systems are working in practice. Katie Myers of Washington APCO/NENA said 911 remains essential, but needs evidence-based triage protocols, liability protections, and additional funding if it is expected to take on more crisis-response responsibilities. Whatcom County described embedding a “community connector” in the 911 center to coordinate alternative response, while ValleyCom reported that its 988 diversion pilot transferred 2,165 calls with 98% resolved through 988/211 without returning to 911. National examples included Denver’s STAR program, Albuquerque’s Community Safety Department, and Atlanta’s PAD initiative, each showing different ways to route low-acuity or behavioral-health-related calls away from police and toward clinicians, peers, or civilian responders. The session ended with Washington examples continuing, including Whatcom County’s alternative response team, underscoring the committee’s interest in refining and expanding integrated crisis response systems in the next session.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'll turn it back now to the committee.
• Do we have questions and comments from any of the committee members? First. Back to the committee.
• work as soon as services are needed.
• I chair the Select Committee on Community Colleges, the hub of the community, and we had a select committee
• I chair the Select Committee on Community Colleges, the hub of the community, and we had a select committee

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• All right, welcome to the Senate Education Committee.
• Vice Chair and committee.
• Chairman, members of the committee.
• Chairman, members of the committee.
• Brown: Thank you for your service as part of the Education Committee.

Keywords: 989, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And then for external speakers, they cover topics such as accessibility as human rights and the employment
• I work as an outreach support service coordinator for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing program at Boston
• I've also worked in human services for... I've also worked in human services for...
• It's been a total of 25 years that I've been in human services and focusing specifically on working with
• So the disability community we're collaborating with the committee, the Adaptive Inclusivity Committee

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Persons with Disabilities subcommittee on Disability Employment approved the prior meeting minutes, welcomed new commission member Victoria Gill, and heard an opening quote on leadership before moving to presentations and planning. The main presentation was from Kristen Grip and Katie McCarthy of Boston Children’s Hospital’s Disability Alliance employee-led group, which described its mission to build an inclusive workplace through education, community-building, and advocacy. They discussed monthly disability-awareness programming, intersectional events, accommodation and accessibility efforts, internal ableism, universal design, and BCH’s recognition in the 2025 Disability Equality Index. They also described their own lived experience and emphasized that employees with disabilities should lead disability-related workplace efforts. Committee members asked how to start a disability employee resource group and what external partnerships might help. The presenters said BCH’s HR diversity team helped launch the group over about a year, and members noted related resources, including a Work Without Limits guide and possible connections with Spalding Rehabilitation and other hospitals. The committee also discussed BCH’s continued support for disability inclusion work despite broader political pressure, and members praised the hospital’s efforts and offered to share additional contacts and resources. The subcommittee then turned to possible collaboration with SEED, the State Exchange on Employment and Disability, on Massachusetts as a model employer and benefit cliff analysis work. Members agreed SEED could help with policy framing, comparative data, stakeholder education, and youth disability employment efforts, and they approved inviting SEED to brief the subcommittee in January or February. The group also discussed possible links to CAPE-Youth, Commonwealth HR and DEI offices, and a future partnership with the Office of the Veterans Advocate. The meeting ended with a motion to adjourn, which was seconded and approved.

Transcript Highlights:

• It's in the name of the committee.
• We provide landscape services basically from April through November and snow and ice management services
• I urge the committee to reject this proposal.
• Any other questions from committee members?
• They don't even have to have human resources.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development held a hybrid hearing on a large group of bills carried over from the previous session, with Chair Jake Oliveira and House Co-Chair Paul McMurtry outlining the process and limiting testimony to three minutes. The committee heard testimony on several labor and workplace proposals, including bills to harmonize employee definitions to address misclassification (SB 1338/HB 2141), expand bereavement leave (including H. 2189/S. 1354 and related bills), protect collective bargaining rights for certain administrative employees (HB 268/SB 1306), expand commuter transit benefits (HB 2153/SB 1345), regulate employer use of credit reports (S. 1286), and require apprenticeship participation or OSHA-related workplace safety measures on public projects. At the end of the hearing, the chairs read into the record additional bills that did not receive testimony that day. Supporters of the misclassification bill, including Greater Boston Legal Services and the AFL-CIO, said aligning the employee-status tests across wage, unemployment, and PFML laws would reduce confusion, improve enforcement, and help workers wrongly treated as independent contractors or managers recover benefits and bargaining rights. NAGE and its representative argued that public-sector employees have been improperly reclassified into management titles to weaken unions, and that the bill would force the Division of Labor Relations to review those titles. On bereavement leave, advocates including the Louis E. Brown Peace Institute, a state representative, the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance, and individual survivors described the impact of sudden loss and homicide on families, saying guaranteed leave would help workers grieve, make arrangements, and avoid losing jobs or custody-related stability. The committee also heard support for commuter benefits as a low-cost way to reduce emissions and increase transit use, and for restricting employer credit checks because of inaccuracies and discriminatory effects. There was opposition to some construction-related bills. The Associated Builders and Contractors and the Building Trades Employers Association supported apprenticeship training in principle but said current apprentice-to-journeyworker ratios are outdated or misunderstood, and that the bills should be amended or clarified before advancing. The Massachusetts landscape and snow-removal industry strongly supported a snow-liability limitation bill, arguing that hold-harmless clauses and broad indemnification requirements force contractors to assume liability for conditions they cannot control, drive up insurance costs, and threaten business viability. The committee did not take any votes during the hearing, and the session ended with the chairs thanking members, staff, and the public before adjourning.

Transcript Highlights:

• But the point being is, after that, we worked closely with our health services and nutrition services
• Despite positive steps taken by the Legislature to tackle human trafficking and provide services to victims
• We talked about this in committee.
• This bill has no opposition and passed both the Assembly Health and Human Services Committee.
• This bill has no opposition and passed both the Assembly Health and Human Services Committee with zero

Summary: The Assembly met after a quorum call and first dealt with a procedural dispute over four amendments to AB 1240. The Speaker ruled the amendments out of order as not germane, and the Assembly sustained that ruling on a 49-16 vote. Members then added co-authors to several consent-calendar resolutions, including measures on the National Conference of State Legislators, Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, ALS Awareness Month, and Men’s Mental Health Month, before adopting the consent calendar. The chamber also heard guest introductions, including a welcome for Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, and took up a motion to bring AB 41 up out of file, which failed 19-48. The bulk of the meeting was floor action on a long series of bills and resolutions, many of which passed with broad bipartisan support. Measures approved included ACR 40 supporting immigrant students and FAFSA privacy; AB 917 on permanent status for certain school employees; AB 985 on anesthesia access; AB 7 and AB 42 on higher education and student services; AB 245 providing property tax relief for wildfire victims; AB 255 allowing funding for drug-free recovery housing; AB 279 updating K-12 library standards; AB 289 creating a pilot for automated speed enforcement in highway construction zones; AB 291 on an educator apprentice program; AB 327 addressing swatting; AB 340 on confidential union communications; AB 341 creating an oral health technical assistance center for people with disabilities; AB 356 on San Diego health care infrastructure; AB 410 on bot disclosure; AB 476 on copper theft enforcement; AB 477 on educator pay targets; AB 485 on stolen wages and business licensing; AB 487, the insurance committee’s technical omnibus bill; AB 573 on tobacco retail license fees; AB 598 on school mapping technology; AB 635 on mobile home law enforcement referrals; AB 651 on remote participation for incarcerated parents in dependency hearings; AB 654 on homelessness hotline assistance in Los Angeles County; AB 662 creating a South County higher education task force; AB 667 on language access in professional licensing; AB 669 limiting early denial of addiction treatment; AB 670 on naturally occurring affordable housing; AB 695 on online continuation of community college for deported students; AB 723 on disclosure for digitally altered real estate images; AB 727 placing Trevor Project information on student IDs; and AB 736, a $10 billion affordable housing bond for the June 2026 ballot, which passed on a 61-11 urgency vote after extensive debate. Debate on AB 736 was the most extensive of the day, with supporters arguing the bond would help address California’s housing crisis and give voters a chance to weigh in, while opponents criticized the state’s bond debt and past spending results. The Assembly then recessed for caucus meetings and later returned to continue the daily file, where additional measures were taken up, including AB 798 adding diapers and wipes to the emergency food bank reserve program, which passed 56-0, and AB 821 on career technical education, which was presented as bipartisan-supported as the transcript continued.

Transcript Highlights:

• I work as an international human rights... I'm chair and members of the committee.
• Good morning, Madam Chair, members of the committee.
• I worked my career with the Indian Health Service.
• And although retired from Indian Health Service, I continue to work. ...with the Indian Health Service
• Thank you, committee. Very thankful. Committee members, we are adjourned. Adjourned.

Summary: The committee met on American Indian Day and first rolled Committee Substitute House Bill 110 at the sponsor’s request. It then heard House Memorial 32, which would direct the Indian Affairs Department and the Commission on the Status of Women to study the history and ongoing impacts of forced and coerced sterilization of Indigenous women and women of color in New Mexico, including known cases, access to reproductive health services, educational policy, and possible reparations. The sponsor, survivors, and expert witnesses described personal experiences and historical research, arguing the issue remains unresolved and that New Mexico could become the first state to formally acknowledge it through a memorial and study. Support came from the Commission on the Status of Women, Planned Parenthood, ACLU of New Mexico, and others; one member objected to the phrase “reproductive justice,” but the sponsor declined to change the language. The committee approved the memorial on a 7-1 vote, with Representative Block voting no. The committee then heard House Bill 109, which would speed up the approval and release of Water Trust Board funding by suspending the current legislative authorization step and relying on a more streamlined review process. The sponsor and NMFA witnesses said the bill would help rural and small communities avoid delays that drive up construction costs, especially given inflation, drought, and the large number of water projects needing funding. They noted the bill would still involve review by multiple state agencies and that legislators could still obtain project information from NMFA. Members asked about oversight, transparency, and whether the change would reduce legislative control, but supporters said the current process adds months and can force communities to reapply when costs rise. The committee passed the bill on a voice vote after a motion for due pass, and the meeting adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Committee, SB 342 to the Business and Professions Committee, SB 490 to the Health Committee, SB 574
• Professions Committee and the Public Safety Committee, SB 883 to the Emergency Management Committee,
• the Public Safety Committee and the Elections Committee.
• and Professions Committee, SB 490 to the Health Committee, SB 574 to the Judiciary Committee and Privacy
• Committee, SB 883 to the Emergency Management Committee, the Public Safety Committee, and the Environmental

Summary: The Assembly convened after a quorum call, opened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, approved procedural motions, and recognized several guests and honorees, including CAUSE leadership academy participants, retiring FCMAT CEO Michael Fine, a Capitol intern, environmental leaders celebrating Black Conservation Week, family members of members, and NASA astronaut Captain Victor Glover Jr. The body also took up a number of routine file items and committee referral requests, with several bills referred to committees by unanimous consent and multiple items passed or retained on file. The main floor debate centered on ACR 214, the Juneteenth resolution. Members from the Black Caucus and other caucuses spoke in support, describing Juneteenth as both a celebration of emancipation and a reminder that freedom and equality remain unfinished work. Speakers emphasized Black history, civil rights, solidarity across communities, and ongoing issues such as education, housing, health, incarceration, and economic inequality. The resolution was adopted by voice vote after 66 coauthors were added. The Assembly also considered AB 2285 on blockchain staking and crypto regulation. The author argued the bill would provide consumer protections and clear rules for banks, credit unions, and crypto exchanges, while an opponent warned it could weaken securities oversight and consumer safeguards. The bill passed 45-1, and the author requested immediate transmission to the Senate. Later, SB 1036 on mitigation fee credits for redevelopment passed 55-0 after brief support for clarifying fee rules and reducing duplicative costs. The chamber then adopted the second-day consent calendar, including resolutions for Women’s Equality Day and the International Day of Yoga, along with several Senate bills, all by unanimous or near-unanimous votes. The Assembly announced it would not meet on Friday, June 19, would reconvene Monday, June 22 at 1 p.m., and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Reports of committees will be deemed read and amendments deemed adopted.
• to the Banking and Finance Committee, then back to the Judiciary Committee.
• She became one of the most powerful advocates for human rights and also women's rights.
• To celebrate black history is to celebrate the ingenuity of the human spirit.
• wraparound services for homeless youth.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• , and committee rules.
• </c> March 12 committee March 12 committee minutes<00:04:04.000><c> any</c><00:04:04.319><c> discussion
• Chair. morning because I had committee right morning because I had committee right until<00:09:21.600
• I urge the committee to reject HF 16 and work on policies that center our shared humanity and protect
• The state agency, the Minnesota Department of Human Services, are not speculative, and the odds of this

Bills: HF1051, HF16

Keywords: sacred communities, micro units, religious institutions, housing regulations, homelessness, conditional use permits, immigration enforcement, sanctuary policies, sanctuary city, noncooperation ordinance, ICE, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, federal immigration authorities, deportation, undocumented immigrant, undocumented person, immigration status data, data sharing, preemption, local government

Transcript Highlights:

• Clerk: The Committee on Human Services will meet today at 1 p.m. in Room 1W.14, Agricultural Museum,
• Members, this cleans up and updates the Health and Human Services Code as it relates to state hospitals
• The Committee...
• Speaker, I move that the House grant permission for the Committee on Human Services to meet while the
• Chair: Please excuse the Human Services Committee to attend a meeting on motion of Mr. Guillen.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> Committee on Appropriations. Committee on Appropriations.
• ><c> that</c> Committee Committee concurred with that Committee Committee concurred with that change.
• </c> [clears throat] services. [clears throat] services.
• Does the committee Resources Committee.
• </c> Committee report. Committee report.

Keywords: 927, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Chair: Human Services Subcommittee come to order. Sabrina, please call the roll. Chair Melo: Here.
• Chair: Welcome to the committee. You are recognized.
• That bill was workshopped in committee.
• Victoria Zap from Family Support Services waiving in support.
• I had a big Chair this week who looked at me in committee and said you have Chair: the committee that

Transcript Highlights:

• To be of service to all mankind.
• To be of service to all mankind. Is that powerful? To be of service to all mankind.
• In 2024, the United States Department of Health and Human Services reported that 43,943 children in the
• services program, The goal of any health and human services program has got to be self-sufficiency.
• service delivery for critical services, including day programs, independent living services, and behavioral

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum, opened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, and then moved through privileges of the floor recognizing visitors, including Fresno State Ag Leadership students and members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. The body also approved the Senate journals and took up several gubernatorial appointments, confirming Heather Lynn Gonzalez to the Court Reporters Board and reappointing Anacubas to the California Law Revision Commission and David Hübner to the same commission, each by 26-10 votes. The chamber then considered SCR 136, commemorating the 50th anniversaries of the California Coastal Act, Coastal Commission, and Coastal Conservancy. Supporters emphasized coastal access, environmental protection, habitat restoration, public trails, and climate resilience, while opponents argued the commission can override local control and hinder development and infrastructure. The resolution passed 27-4. The Senate also adopted SR 68 on Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Denim Day unanimously, with members discussing survivor support, consent, and the need for stronger protections and accountability. Additional resolutions and bills were approved, including SCR 130 recognizing Child Abuse Prevention Month, SB 1058 on school nutrition procurement flexibility, SB 930 requiring end-to-end encryption for certain school exam proctoring services, SB 917 expanding farmers’ market sales opportunities for wineries, SB 1002 on continuity of telehealth care for eligible patients, SB 1036 clarifying mitigation fee credits for redevelopment, SCR 131 calling for urgent action on unsheltered homelessness, SB 1285 on juvenile record dismissal, SB 969 on remote developmental services, and SCR 157 honoring School Bus Driver’s Day. Most of these items passed unanimously, while SCR 131 passed 34-0 after debate over housing-first approaches, self-sufficiency, interim shelter, and coordination among state and local governments. The consent calendar was then approved, committee announcements were made, and the Senate adjourned in memory of Sandy Steers, with the next floor session scheduled for April 30, 2026.

Transcript Highlights:

• Yeah, with a vote of 5-0, the committee rules are adopted.
• But obviously, access to these services is extremely critical for rural communities. to these services
• for Humane Economy.
• The bill has five votes so it will get out of committee.
• All right, we'll bring it back to the committee. Committee, do you have any questions? Sure.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The Health and Human Services Committee will meet at 1:30 today to hear bills 1142, 1075, 1107, 1085,
• </c> service, and community leadership. service, and community leadership.
• </c><00:39:23.760><c> and</c> service. with a degree in humanities and service. with a degree in humanities
• </c> justice, unity, and public service. justice, unity, and public service.
• Tomorrow morning at 8:15, the Capital Development Committee will be meeting in Senate Committee Room

Keywords: 981, all

Summary: The House convened with a quorum, approved the corrected journal from February 17, 2026, and then moved into third reading. Members passed several bills on final passage: HB 1013, concerning landlord use of ratio utility billing systems; HB 1064, modifying the youthful offender system; HB 1076, making transportation-related statutory changes; HB 1067, allowing use of the diseased livestock indemnity fund to address livestock health threats; HB 1042, concerning dry needling by occupational therapists; and HB 1025, exempting auctioneers from certain requirements of the Colorado Charitable Solicitations Act. Vote totals were recorded for each, with HB 1042 and HB 1025 passing unanimously and the others passing by varying margins, including HB 1067 at 58-1 and HB 1076 at 40-19. Co-sponsors were then invited to add their names to the adopted bills. During announcements, members highlighted upcoming committee hearings and events. Judiciary, Education, Health and Human Services, Transportation/Housing/Local Government, Finance, Statutory Revision, and Capital Development committees all announced meetings and bill agendas. The chamber also recognized visiting student groups, including Adams 12 Stargate, Emily Griffith Technical College, and Slavens Elementary fourth graders, as well as a Chaparral High School AP government class. There were also announcements about the Aerospace and Defense Caucus, Aerospace Day at the Capitol, and a Colorado Housing Coalition reception. Several members made brief remarks honoring people and observances, including a detailed tribute to Barbara Shannon Banister for her civil rights and community leadership in Aurora, and a statement marking the first day of Ramadan and encouraging members to visit local mosques and participate in iftar events. At the end of the session, the majority leader moved to lay over the balance of the calendar until February 19, 2026, and the House agreed without objection. The House then stood in recess until later that day.

Transcript Highlights:

• whose absences from committee committee whose absences from committee meetings<00:31:57.600><c> are<
• to contact committee designated to contact protective<00:41:06.720><c> services</c><00:41:07.720><c>
• He said nobody wanted to take it on when the department took it over from Health and Human Services,
• </c> uh Health and Human Services so I am uh Health and Human Services so I am really<02:37:05.040><c
• In fact, not only are our milk inspectors in the Department of Health and Human Services trained to collect

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The Environment and Agriculture Committee held an introductory orientation for members, many of whom were new or newly assigned to the committee. Leadership emphasized that the committee is intended to operate in a nonpartisan, collaborative way, and members introduced themselves and described their backgrounds in farming, gardening, food service, environmental work, water and waste issues, veterinary work, and related fields. Several members noted personal ties to homesteading, livestock, orcharding, food security, landfill concerns, and animal welfare, while others said they were eager to learn the committee’s work. The chair then reviewed committee procedures and expectations. Members were told the committee would generally meet on Tuesdays, with hearings starting around 10 a.m. and often running until about 4:30 p.m., and that absences, substitutes for executive sessions, and email communications would be handled through House rules and the committee’s email system. The chair also covered decorum rules for live-streamed meetings, including professional dress, limiting food and drink at the table, and giving full attention to witnesses. Members were reminded that legislative emails are subject to public records laws and that the committee may soon transition to a new email domain. The chair also explained logistics such as bill folders, committee room storage, and emergency procedures for evacuation or shelter-in-place. No bills were debated or voted on in this meeting, but the chair noted that the committee already had roughly two dozen bills pending, including animal welfare, landfill, policy, and cat-and-dog related measures. Members were told to expect a broad mix of topics beyond agriculture, including solid waste and animal-related legislation.

Transcript Highlights:

• As far as I know, the last communications that I got from Health and Human Services, and they can come
• Nathan My, Chief Financial Officer with the Department of Health and Human Services.
• And so with then I will move amendment 1330S. and Human Services and and Human Services and they<00:40
• </c> and Human Services. and Human Services.
• </c> I'll second that committee amendment. I'll second that committee amendment.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Not seeing any committee. Senator Woodward. Not seeing any committee. Senator Adams. Mr.
• Chairman and committee.
• Welcome to the committee. Just your name and who you represent. Thank you, Chairman, committee.
• Welcome to committee. Hi, thank you. Good morning, Chair, members of the committee.
• Bill 659 be held in committee.

Keywords: 989, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <c> to</c><00:04:26.880><c> improve</c> of human services more tools to improve of human services more
• </c><00:30:38.320><c> This</c> the Department of Human Services.
• This the Department of Human Services.
• We have 59 staff for detecting and addressing fraud in human services.
• </c> preding addressing fraud in human preding addressing fraud in human services.<01:37:28.480><c> We

Keywords: 1183, house