Transcript Highlights:

• So those are both folded in, and we have numerous students participating in both those versions.
• The discussion then shifted as the chair asked a question about participation rates and earlier comments
• The speaker said they were referring to Arkansas’s higher education participation rate, meaning anything
• They said Arkansas’s participation rate is about 42%, compared with a national average of about 62%,
• They said Arkansas’s participation rate is about 42%, while the national average is about 62%.

Summary: The committee approved the November 3 minutes and then received an extensive presentation from Arkansas education and workforce officials on how the LEARNS and ACCESS Acts are affecting career and technical education, concurrent enrollment, and postsecondary readiness. Officials said the state’s goal is for students to leave high school employed, enrolled, or enlisted, and reported increases in K-12 CTE enrollment from about 161,000 to 171,000 students and concurrent CTE enrollment from about 12,000 to 16,000. They also described the new success-ready pathways, merit and distinction designations, and how those measures tie into school accountability and graduation outcomes. The discussion then turned to scholarships and grants. Officials explained that ACCESS expanded concurrent credit support, increased funding per credit hour, and broadened eligibility for the Arkansas Academic Challenge and Governor’s Scholar programs by adding diploma-of-merit and diploma-of-distinction pathways. They said the Governor’s Distinguished Scholarship itself did not change, but the non-distinguished Governor’s Scholar award now includes diploma of distinction as an additional eligibility route. Members raised concerns about how these requirements apply to private school and homeschool students, and officials said the intent is to ensure those students can qualify if they meet the same standards, though some implementation details are still being worked out. Questions also focused on whether students who explore multiple pathways could be penalized in school letter grades; officials said the system allows multiple ways to earn credit, including AP, IB, concurrent credit, technical certificates, and apprenticeships. Officials also reviewed workforce scholarships and short-term training funding. They said the state is developing policy for the Workforce Challenge and related professional skills training to set an 80-hour minimum and tiered funding, and they discussed the new federal Workforce Pell rules, which they said are very narrow and will likely apply to only a small number of Arkansas programs unless providers repackage training into stackable, credit-bearing pathways. Members asked for lists of eliminated programs, apprenticeships, and data on scholarship recipients, and staff said they could provide those. The committee also heard from Cody Waites on a $35.8 million U.S. Department of Labor cooperative agreement for the American Manufacturing Apprenticeship Incentive Fund, which Arkansas will administer nationally. He said the grant will support advanced manufacturing apprenticeships, use a pay-for-performance model, and be distributed to sponsors after apprentices are employed for 90 days, with applications opening January 28 and the state expecting to keep administrative costs under 8-9%.

Transcript Highlights:

• It's just not an automatic coverage.” “It's just not an automatic coverage to allow for review.
• programs rates for the '26-'27 year, we are proposing no change to the minimum deductibles for participants
• We are proposing no change to the minimum deductibles for participants.
• What we are presenting to you, we are trying to get more aligned with the particular participants.
• But this particular reduction is not going to flow all the way down to every particular participant because

Keywords: 1204, all

Summary: The State Insurance Programs Oversight Subcommittee met on June 17 and reviewed a series of Employee Benefits Division and Office of Property Risk items. Grant Wallace presented March and April formulary changes, including moving to lower-cost generic and preferred drugs, leaving several new-to-market drugs not covered, and adjusting migraine and diabetes medications; the committee approved those recommendations. The subcommittee also approved a cell and gene therapy policy that excludes automatic coverage for those therapies so they can undergo prior authorization and review, with members emphasizing that the policy was intended to create review, not an absolute denial, and that expedited appeals would remain available. Members spent significant time discussing the UAMS pharmacy benefit consultant amendment. Wallace explained that the contract included both basic services and optional services related to coupon and rebate management and prior authorization support, but the written materials created confusion over the dollar amount. After questions about whether the committee was approving a higher amount than the base contract and whether the optional services duplicated work already being done by Navitus, the committee agreed to review the item with a contingency that any use of the optional services would return to the committee for approval. The committee also reviewed and approved the U.S. Able Mutual/Blue Advantage third-party administrator contract, the CompSack employee assistance program contract, and the proposed 2027 employee and public employee rates, which call for a 9.8% increase for state employees and a 4.9% increase for public school employees. On the property risk side, the committee reviewed permanent rules for the property insurance program, a contingency-fee subrogation contract with Denenberg-Tuffley, and renewals for Sedgwick claims management, Actuarial Advantage, and Stevens Capital Management. Wallace said Sedgwick had faced delays after a major winter storm and other weather events, but performance guarantees and communication expectations were being added; members discussed whether a shorter renewal term would be preferable, but the item was reviewed. The committee also approved the 2026-27 captive insurance program rates, which Wallace said would lower the overall rate by 10% while keeping minimum deductibles unchanged. He noted the program had stabilized after a difficult first year and that the rate structure was now based on a more transparent actuarial foundation. The meeting ended with an update that the UnitedHealthcare rebid was nearing completion and would return in August, and the committee adjourned after approving the remaining items.

Transcript Highlights:

• 54.400> or<00:06:54.560> Clean<00:06:54.880> Slate<00:06:55.199> Act automatic
• expungement or Clean Slate Act automatic expungement or Clean Slate Act expungement.<00:06:56.479>
• But is it like if you have one of these, you are automatically disqualified there, or is it like, okay
• of these you are automatically of these you are automatically disqualified<00:13:46.079> there
• > these<00:50:54.720> cases impartial participants in these cases impartial participants

Bills: HF2233, HF1524, HF1893, HF1396, HF2456, HF2959, HF2300, HF2412, HF3022, HF2825, HF1862, HF1373, HF1039, HF3070

Keywords: Uniform Special Deposits Act, special deposit, banking law, financial institutions, escrow, escrow account, trust account, security deposit, beneficiary, depositor, creditor process, garnishment, attachment, levy, setoff, recoupment, financial market infrastructure, retirement benefits, compensation, earnest money

Transcript Highlights:

• did not have their 20 in in 1989 and they retired in the next few years, they no longer got the automatic
• And they were also not allowed to participate in the plan B.
• Current employee that's 40% vested, this automatically vests them up to 100%.
• or certified officers of the Office of State Fire Marshal and sets rules for how those employees participate
• HB2206 allows newly hired school resource officers to participate in the Oklahoma law enforcement retirement

Bills: HB1739, HB1784, HB1889, HB2116, HB2206, HB3625, HB2939, HB3028, HB3265, HB3313, HB3413, HB3414, HB3415, HB3416, HB3417, HB3418, HB3420, HB3588, HB3748, HB3721, HB3852, HB4132, HB4263, HB4303, HB4311, HB4428, HB4429, HB4434

Keywords: retirement, law enforcement, disability benefits, pension system, Oklahoma, education reform, local control, student outcomes, curriculum changes, school funding, public retirement systems, pension, retirement benefits, cost-of-living adjustment, COLA, inflation adjustment, CPI-U, Consumer Price Index, firefighters pension, police pension

Transcript Highlights:

• But we cannot participate; we cannot make our voices heard if we have to risk our health, our careers
• Sensory aids allow me to be present, to participate, and to actually engage. my rights without harm.
• SB2876 doesn't just raise the penalty for participating in what is deemed a riot; it raises the penalty
• Delivery rules for ballots that are counted using automatic tabulating equipment are all outlined in
• Thank you for your participation in our work this year as well.

Bills: HB45, SB1540, SB2225, SB2284, SB2382, SB2487, SB2514, SB2595, SB2876, SB2877, SB3031, SB2753

Keywords: flooding, disaster response, emergency preparedness, state guidance, public safety, election officials, confidentiality, personal information, government transparency, spirit beverages, alcoholic beverages, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code, distribution, taxation, firearms, local regulation, archery equipment, weapons, voter registration, statewide list

Transcript Highlights:

• The Governor's Office, Senator Lopez, and members of the judiciary have been participating with us on
• Automatic diversion for kids committing first-time misdemeanors or other low-level offenses, using restorative
• There are opportunities to enact statutory requirements to automatically divert young people.
• organizations in Albuquerque, La Placita, and others to identify young people and their parents to participate
• And there is greater stability and consistent participation from the carriers from one year to the next

Transcript Highlights:

• trend, the growing number of states have adopted retirement savings plans like this one, so it's automatic
• toward securing the financial future of thousands of public employees across the Commonwealth by automatically
• It removes the barriers to participation and leads to much higher enrollment rates.
• In fact, employees who are automatically enrolled are more likely to stay enrolled, save consistently

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on several public service and retirement-related bills. Senator Kelly Dooner and Rep. O’Rourke supported a Taunton home rule petition to extend Chief Walsh’s service during the city’s transition to a new public safety facility, citing the need to manage new equipment, cameras, and 911 systems smoothly. Senator Lovely testified in favor of bills expanding retirement savings access through the SMART Plan and the CORE Plan, arguing that automatic enrollment and broader eligibility would help state, municipal, and nonprofit workers save for retirement. No questions were raised on the Taunton petition, and the hearing later moved through the remaining testimony without any votes taken during the transcript. Mary Waldron of the Old Colony Planning Council and Jeffrey Walker of the Southeast Regional Planning and Economic Development District urged support for legislation protecting regional planning agencies from being required to make retroactive payments to the State Retirement Board for past employer contributions. They warned that the costs would be unsustainable, could force layoffs or closures, and would jeopardize their ability to provide transportation, housing, economic development, and planning services. Bill Keith and Patrick Charles of PEREC testified on several retirement administration bills, including measures to ease statement-of-financial-interest filing rules, require payment for certain creditable service purchases, and clarify the definition of wages to include sick, vacation, and personal time; committee members asked questions about regional transit authorities joining retirement systems and about adding local retirement board representation to a proposed commission. Jonathan Osimo and Rob Fabino of the Massachusetts Teachers Retirement System supported bills to penalize delinquent pension reporting by employers and to create a special commission to study retirement credit purchases, saying better reporting would improve retirement processing and that a broader review could improve fairness and sustainability. Eddie Boynton of the Braintree Education Association backed the SMART Plan bill, describing how automatic enrollment and low-fee fiduciary oversight could protect educators from high-cost supplemental retirement products. Matthew Nugent testified for a bill to divest public pension funds from firearms and ammunition. After the final witnesses, the chairs asked if anyone else wished to testify, heard none, and then adjourned the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• It allows community-based nonprofit organizations Senator Hinojosa: to establish or participate in regional
• Today, when Texans request STD or STI screenings, HIV testing is not automatically included, which leaves
• So if you're going to get STI testing, it would just be automatically the checkbox is there, but the
• thing that you'd have to opt out, or if someone was going to test, is there a panel already that's automatic

Bills: HB50

Keywords: constitutional amendment, ballot language, fiscal note, fiscal impact, cost estimate, savings estimate, Legislative Budget Board, LBB, secretary of state, Election Code, Government Code, voter information, ballot proposition, state budget, election administration, Texas

Transcript Highlights:

• HB 313 by Johnson relating to prohibiting the transfer of certain semi-automatic rifles to certain recipients
• HB 323 by Spiller relating to the requiring political subdivisions of the state to participate in federal
• Workforce and Economic Development, HB 384 by Goodwin relate to prohibiting the transfer of certain semi-automatic
• HB 463 by Jones of Harris relating to the automatic expunction of arrest records and files of certain

Transcript Highlights:

• Well, this illustrates New Mexico's SNAP participation and benefit rates are some of the highest in the
• And then what we're seeing is that cost and participation have come down as those pandemic policies have
• Categories where there are certain groups that are automatically exempt, like in that second row.
• We didn't necessarily get a ton of residents who participated in the survey.
• Thank you again to HCA for their assistance and participation in this report, and to Elisa this time

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• where they can participate in voting. where they can participate in voting.
• automatically automatically be<02:59:57.920> registered<02:59:58.560> Republican.
• This system is not participate in.
• It invites participation. participation. participation.
• > primary<03:09:48.800> elections participate in those primary elections participate in

Keywords: 1136, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The budget automatically pays for the purchase of those materials.
• Automatically. Okay, so where else did the two billion go?
• More teachers are participating in the teacher incentive allotment.
• Reservations for the teacher retirement system participants and others.
• The field has boards alongside because participants play blindfolded.

Bills: SB1, SB 1

Keywords: appropriations, budget, state funding, education, healthcare, infrastructure, campground safety, youth camp regulations, flood safety, emergency evacuation, health and safety standards, 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• expectations regarding the size of the school facilities and delineates the limits of state funding participation
• It also defines, in an equitable way, and limits the participation of that state funding because some
• of having to wait for that utility bill and someone typing in what we're spending, it does it automatically
• It does it automatically for you, and then we can compare historical data.
• or change to look at every hour, every eight hours, so they can go down to the minute, and it automatically

Transcript Highlights:

• And the law recognizes that each trial error is not automatically reversible, but the Heath decision
• The second piece about limiting discovery involves the records that are automatically put into the portal
• We would have to work with the courts. and educate on why those records are automatically in the portal
• Under current law, certain individuals are not eligible to participate in some of these programs, including
• So what is 365 days, if you get a maximum punishment, is now automatically... ...six months, and for

Bills: SB552, SB1099, SB1124, SB1208, SB1372, SB1506, SB1667, SB1804, SB1806, SB1870, SB1936, SB1937, SB2180, SB2405, SB2569, SB2570, SB1646

Keywords: community supervision, criminal justice, illegal alien, deferred adjudication, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, SB 1099, undocumented immigrant, unauthorized immigrant, immigration status, felony sentencing enhancement, criminal penalty increase, Texas Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, affirmative finding, judgment finding, deportation, public safety, immigration enforcement, sentencing reform, felony offense

Transcript Highlights:

• requirements, The bill also authorizes waiver of specified educator certification requirements based on participation
• So my question is, can we include language or does this automatically include the fact that any student
• and proposes that employers would not be required to adhere to minimum wage laws for employees participating
• This bill adds Advanced Placement, the AP Capstone Diploma designation, as an automatic qualifier for
• AP Capstone Diploma, This bill adds advanced placement the AP capstone diploma designation as an automatic

Summary: The Careers and Workforce Subcommittee met with a quorum and took up four bills. The first, HB 875 on educator preparation, would align teacher-prep programs under a uniform core curriculum, create a competency-based coaching program (CERT), standardize mentor and clinical educator requirements, allow certain certification waivers, and establish a Florida Institute of Teaching Excellence at Miami-Dade College subject to appropriation. Debate focused heavily on language in the bill related to systemic racism, identity politics, privilege, and historical distortion, with supporters saying the bill is about pedagogy and opponents warning it could limit discussion of important historical and social topics. The committee adopted a strike-all amendment and then reported the bill favorably, 12-4. The committee then considered PCS for HB 541 on minimum wage requirements, which would allow employees to knowingly and voluntarily waive the state minimum wage for up to 12 months in certain structured work-based training settings. Supporters argued it would expand access to training and career pathways for inexperienced workers and help address labor shortages, while opponents said it could depress wages, invite coercion, and conflict with the state constitution’s minimum wage provisions. Public testimony included opposition from workers and labor groups and support from NFIB. The bill was reported favorably, 12-4. Next, PCS for HB 681 on apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship program funding was presented as a transparency and accountability measure to improve funding reporting and address bargaining issues between education agencies and program providers. Support came from industry groups and the ranking member, and the bill was reported favorably without opposition, 16-0. Finally, PCS for HB 1105 on education and Bright Futures would broaden Gold Seal Vocational eligibility, align CTE diploma requirements with Bright Futures, add AP Capstone as an automatic qualifier, and remove barriers for certain military and public service families. The committee supported the bill, which was reported favorably, 15-0. The meeting ended after a correction to the record on one public comment card and adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• And we automatically have that happen.
• <02:30:10.880> transfer proposing that we automatically transfer proposing that we automatically
• <02:30:22.560> I automatically. I'll be upfront. I automatically. I'll be upfront.
• but not that it would be automatic. but not that it would be automatic.
• we're very concerned about the automatic we're very concerned about the automatic sweep<02:32:04.160

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Working group members are exempt from the ethics code solely for their participation.
• Key harbor users including participate.
• Remote participation, it was operators.
• <01:48:03.679> The solely for their participation. The solely for their participation.
• deol dissolve on June will automatically deol dissolve on June 30th,<01:48:28.080> 2027.

Keywords: Conference Notices: AGR 2:30 PM:, 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We ask that all remote participants remain muted until they are recognized.
• Civic participation in low rates of recidivism.
• Incarcerated individuals to participate as a stakeholder within our society.
• Thank you for participating. Any questions? Thank you.
• They are structural barriers that determine who can participate.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Election Laws held a hearing on a wide range of voting-access and election-administration bills. The largest portion of testimony focused on same-day voter registration (H. 834/S. 505), with support from Rep. Gentile, Boston and Chelsea officials, civic groups, and election administrators from Maine and Vermont. Supporters argued that same-day registration would help eligible voters who move frequently, miss deadlines, or face administrative errors, and would reduce rejected provisional ballots. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and Vermont elections director Sean Sheehan testified that same-day registration has worked in their states without major administrative problems and has helped increase turnout. A Boston-based panel also described high rejection rates for provisional ballots and the burden of registration cutoffs on renters, students, immigrants, and low-income voters. A second major topic was restoration of voting rights for incarcerated people, including S. 524 and related House bills. The committee heard extensive virtual testimony from incarcerated individuals at MCI Norfolk and MCI Shirley, who said voting should be restored as part of rehabilitation, civic engagement, and reintegration. They described disenfranchisement as dehumanizing and argued that voting would help maintain family and community ties, reduce recidivism, and give incarcerated people a voice on laws affecting prisons and reentry. Rep. Erica Uyterhoeven also testified in support, saying the bill would restore municipal voting rights for incarcerated residents and align with broader efforts to expand political participation. The committee also heard testimony on bills affecting election administration and access, including a proposal to reduce or eliminate mandated early in-person voting in primaries and shorten the general-election early voting period, with supporters from the town clerks’ community arguing that low usage, staffing burdens, and costs justify the change. Opponents warned that reducing in-person early voting could hurt voters who do not use mail ballots and could disproportionately affect communities of color. Other bills discussed included decoupling the municipal census from voter registration, requiring periodic accessibility inspections of polling places, and a Somerville home-rule petition on non-citizen municipal voting and another on lowering the voting age in municipal elections. No votes or final committee actions were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• But good intentions do not automatically But good intentions do not automatically make<00:30:03.440
• <01:12:22.640> because underlying bill automatically because underlying bill automatically
• <01:59:51.440> from<01:59:51.679> full<01:59:51.920> participation from participate
• from full participation from participate from full participation in<01:59:52.560> the<01:59:52.719
• inadequate insurance participation. inadequate insurance participation.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• House Bill 4479 ensures rural Texans can fully participate by providing support to build and sustain
• If the carrier doesn't file a dispute within a particular period of time, then they automatically are
• If the carrier doesn't file a dispute within a particular period of time, then they automatically are
• These automatic reductions do not reflect the will of the jury, the conscience of our community, and
• As you know, employer participation in the Texas workers' compensation system is voluntary.

Summary: The subcommittee heard testimony on a broad agenda of workforce, labor, and workers’ compensation bills. HB 4676 would require political subdivision workers’ compensation networks to follow the same notice, access, and complaint rules as certified TDI networks; supporters said public employees and first responders deserve equal access to care, while municipal risk pool representatives opposed added regulation and said existing 504 networks already perform well. HB 4479 would create a rural workforce development grant program at TWC to support college-and-career readiness and local workforce alignment, and HB 3844 would define “opportunity youth” in state law to improve data, coordination, and access to services for disconnected young Texans; both drew strong support from rural, education, and chamber witnesses. HB 5545 would clarify federal tax treatment for wage-replacement benefits in non-subscriber injury benefit plans, with proponents calling it a win for employers and injured workers. HB 5118 would direct TWC and DIR to study AI and automated employment decision tools in hiring, including bias and oversight concerns. HB 1667 would move existing PTSD workers’ compensation language into a broader Labor Code chapter so more first responders, including state and campus officers, could qualify for benefits; supporters called it a technical fix to extend coverage more evenly across agencies. The committee also heard several first-responder and workers’ compensation bills. HB 2369 would speed up claims handling for injured first responders by allowing a single medical evaluation, giving carriers 60 days to accept or deny a claim, and letting workers seek treatment while disputes proceed; law enforcement supporters said it would help injured officers return to work faster, while opponents warned it would revive extent-of-injury waiver problems and increase litigation. HB 4483 would reclassify certain workers’ compensation maintenance taxes as surcharges to reduce retaliatory taxes imposed by other states on Texas-domiciled carriers, and HB 875, as revised by committee substitute, would create a small-project exception to municipal workers’ compensation and bonding requirements for certain low-value construction contracts in small cities; both were presented as cost-saving measures for Texas employers and local governments. HB 4415 would extend anti-retaliation protections for workers’ compensation claimants from first responders to all public employees and expressly waive sovereign immunity for those claims, with supporters describing it as closing a loophole that leaves public workers without the same remedy available in the private sector. The committee also took testimony on HB 5400, which would expand remedies for sexual harassment victims by removing the requirement to first file an administrative charge, extending the filing deadline from 300 days to two years, clarifying retaliation, and eliminating current damages caps. Supporters, including employment lawyers and a parent of a victim, said the current deadlines and caps prevent many survivors from obtaining counsel or full relief, especially younger workers and those in small workplaces or franchises. Across the agenda, witnesses repeatedly emphasized access to care, fair treatment for injured workers, rural workforce development, and stronger protections for vulnerable employees. After each bill was laid out and testimony heard, the chair generally closed the public hearing and left the bill pending; no final votes were taken, and the subcommittee adjourned after completing the agenda.