Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:19:58.960><c> policies</c> precedent to return to failed policies precedent to return to failed
• Senate wanted to pass the bill.
• </c><01:13:56.560><c> in</c> two of the language that was passed in two of the language that was passed
• </c><01:39:15.120><c> the</c> We're hoping that it can pass the We're hoping that it can pass the Senate
• Thank you for your pass. Thank you.

Committee: Senate Energy and Natural Resources

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Report is accepted, or passed.
• Passed. Next up on deck we have education, or excuse me, cities and counties.
• It's passed. All right. All those in favor? Opposed? It's passed.
• The motion passes. Thank you. The motion passes. All right, the motion passes. Thank you.
• The motion passes as the report passes as amended. Thank you. All right.

Committee: All LEGISLATIVE JOINT AUDITING

Summary: The Legislative Joint Auditing Committee approved the February 13 minutes and then heard several committee reports. The executive committee report noted that audit and special reports were scheduled for presentation, one requested report remained outstanding, and staff was asked to review selected Benton County circuit court case transfers. The committee also received and adopted reports from the counties and municipalities committee, the education committee, and the state agencies committee. Those reports covered delinquent private water and sewer audits, education audit reports, and state agency findings such as duplicate vendor payments, collateral issues, record-keeping problems, and vehicle log deficiencies. In each case, the committee voted to file or adopt the reports, with some reports deferred for follow-up or for officials to appear at a later meeting. A major portion of the meeting focused on the City of Pine Bluff’s 2024 financial audit. Auditors said the city received a clean opinion overall, but management letter findings identified serious issues in the mayor’s office, Parks and Recreation, and the finance department. The Parks and Recreation finding involved $179,629 in manual receipts that could not be traced to city deposits, missing receipts from several facilities, $48,415 in unallowable purchases, $13,000 in questionable purchases, altered invoices, unapproved vendors, and missing equipment; those matters were referred to the prosecuting attorney, attorney general, Governmental Bonding Board, and Arkansas State Police. The finance finding cited weak cash-receipting and bank-reconciliation procedures and late or missing deposits. City officials, including the mayor, finance director, and parks director, testified that the problems predated the current administration and said they had taken corrective steps. They described hiring a forensic audit firm, creating or updating standard operating procedures, improving receipting and deposit processes, adding procurement oversight, and moving Parks and Recreation to electronic or system-based receipting. Committee members questioned the officials about oversight, nonprofit relationships, and whether theft or system failures were to blame. After discussion, the committee voted to file the Pine Bluff report. The next meeting was announced for June 4-5, 2026.

Transcript Highlights:

• Do pass to Appropriations, file item number 7, AB 415, Chen.
• Do pass to Appropriations, file item number 8, AB 655, Alvarez.
• Do pass to Appropriations, file item number 9, AB 1232, Avia Farias, do pass to Judiciary with recommendations
• File item number 7, AB 415, Chen, do pass. Do pass to Appropriations.
• File item number 9, AB 1232, Avia Farias, do pass to Judish.

Committee: House Economic Development, Growth, and Household Impact

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We've passed ADU law. We did major CEQA reforms last year.
• the same money be passed right back to local governments.
• Do pass as amended to Senate Appropriations. The roll. Do pass as amended to Senate Appropriations.
• The motion is due pass. Thank you. Moved by Senator Cabaldon.
• So, yeah, so prior to a bill that was passed last year, So, yeah, prior to a bill that was passed last

Committee: Senate Housing

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And the doctor at the time said I could take medication to go home and wait to pass the baby.
• When they don't have timely information on the passing of an account holder.
• Just ask that you guys pass it out. Thank you.
• Because I thought we tried in 2019, and that failed. Okay.
• Because I thought we tried in 2019, and that failed. Okay.

Bills: HB288 , HB403 , HB420 , HB783 , HB815 , HB915 , HB927 , HB933 , HB944 , HB962 , HB971 , HR74 , SCR3 , SCR20 , SB5 , SB34 , SB37 , SB190 , SB255 , SB270 , SB273 , SB314 , SB415

Committee: House Health and Welfare

Keywords: medical terminology, documentation, miscarriage, spontaneous abortion, healthcare, medical records, billing, homemade food, food safety, small business, exemption, regulation, Department of Children and Family Services, background checks, child welfare, employee screening, safety regulations, criminal history, non-lactational dairy, labeling requirements

Transcript Highlights:

• its expert opinions of the minimum training that would be needed for a firefighter to successfully pass
• </c> for a firefighter to successfully pass for a firefighter to successfully pass the<00:04:36.960><
• Firefighters seeking an IFSAC certification must pass a written exam and demonstrate 100% proficiency
• You know, we've really, and there's many groups that pass those out there.
• Uh, and I failed miserably. those not one of those worlds, sir.

Keywords: Call to Order and Roll Call- 00:00:03 Summary of Staff Report on the Firefighter Commission Minimum Training Standards and Administrative Spending- 00:01:00 Staff Update on Child Fatality and Near Fatality External Review Panel 00:16:00 Child Fatality and Near Fatality Review Panel Representatives Available for Questions-00:39:34 Kentucky State Police & Finance Cabinet Status Update on Kentucky Statewide Emergency Responder Voice System-00:52:35 Adjournment-01:46:24, 958, all

Summary: The committee first approved the minutes from December 19 and June 12, then received a staff report on the Kentucky Fire Commission’s minimum training standards and administrative spending. Staff explained that the commission’s current minimum training hours are 115 for volunteer firefighters and 300 for paid firefighters, down from 150 and 400 before January 1, 2023, after the commission removed elective classes not directly tied to NFPA standards. The report found the commission’s certification testing aligns fully with NFPA standards, but recommended that the commission formally promulgate regulations establishing the reduced training hours. On finances, staff said the commission complied with the first statutory cap on administrative reimbursements to KCTCS, but could not verify compliance with a second, more specific cap because the finance system does not break out program-level costs and the statute is vague. Staff recommended the commission work with KCTCS to fix that issue and suggested the General Assembly may wish to clarify the statute. After questions about reimbursement levels and investment income, the committee voted to accept the report. The committee then heard an update on the Kentucky Child Fatality and Near Fatality External Review Panel. Staff reported that the panel has implemented two of three prior recommendations: it revised its agency notification letter to clearly state the 90-day response deadline and added response prompts and checkboxes to improve completeness. The third recommendation, to adopt formal written procedures, remains in progress; staff said the panel plans to develop those procedures alongside its new case management system. The panel is meeting its statutory membership and meeting requirements, but agency responses to its recommendations have been inconsistent: 48% were timely and appropriate in 2022, 36% in 2023, and 82% in 2024, though only three of nine timely 2024 responses were fully complete. Staff also described the new case management system project, funded with $200,000 in one-time money, and recommended the panel consult budget staff about use of those funds beyond fiscal year 2025. They reissued the recommendation that the panel develop written procedures for case review, findings, recommendations, and annual reports. Committee members raised concerns about the lack of penalties for noncompliance, the volume and length of panel meetings, and technology barriers to reviewing cases, and one member said the panel’s findings should inform future legislation.

Transcript Highlights:

• Representatives Alaman, pass. Eyes.
• </c> the recommendation that do pass eyes. the recommendation that do pass eyes.
• </c> recommendation that do pass eyes. recommendation that do pass eyes.
• </c><00:33:03.120><c> multiple</c> resurrect a bill that's failed multiple resurrect a bill that's failed
• I think this is a good way to get this bill passed. It is a good way to get this bill passed.

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I move to send HCR 32 to the floor with the due pass recommendation. Thank you, committee.
• Motion passes. Thank you. Okay, next up: HJM 18. I'll try to get that right. patient.
• And I would just encourage you guys to pass this.
• User failed to unmute himself, try again. Hello? Yes, Ms. Snyder, go ahead.
• I move that we send H.J.M. 18 to the floor with the due pass recommendation.

Committee: House Environment, Energy and Technology

Keywords: 989, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I was going to pass it around to the members.
• And so we can still pass both of them and we should.
• Yeah, but if we pass this one and we pass that one, the percentage wouldn't necessarily apply, but it's
• Yeah, but if we pass this one and we pass that one, the percentage wouldn't necessarily apply, but it's
• Let me ask you this: if the bill passes or the resolution passes, both of them, how do you measure, as

Committee: House Natural Resources & Environment

Keywords: 965, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So that part of tax reform did not pass.
• How does the propositions that are on the ballot this spring, how does that pass or fail, how does that
• So I guess if that measure does not pass at the ballot, how does inventory tax... ...not pass at the
• So I don't believe that if that fails to pass, that they're getting rid of their inventory tax, or I'm
• If that measure doesn't pass, but I'm just wondering if it does not pass, the funding that was allocated

Summary: The House Ways and Means Committee met on March 10, 2026, for a series of informational presentations rather than bill hearings. House Fiscal Division staff reviewed the state’s tax structure, the 2024 third special session tax reform package, and the Revenue Estimating Conference process. They explained the move to a 3% flat individual income tax, a 5.5% flat corporate income tax, the higher standard deduction and retirement-income exclusion, the repeal of several deductions and credits, the repeal of the corporate franchise tax, and the expansion of the sales tax base to certain digital goods. Staff also walked through tax exemption data, showing the size of exemptions relative to collections, and discussed forecasted revenue gaps in the out years, including the effect of the scheduled sales tax rate reduction and the return of transportation-related revenues to their prior dedication. Members asked about declining mineral revenues, digital sales tax collections, corporate collections, and the impact of tax credits and exemptions. Division of Administration and Legislative Fiscal Office staff said lower oil and gas prices, long-term production declines, and the timing of corporate payments were major factors in revenue trends, and that it will take at least another year or two of tax returns to fully understand the reform’s effects. They emphasized that corporate collections are still below the $600 million threshold that affects the state general fund and Revenue Stabilization Fund, though the forecast remains $900 million. The committee also discussed surplus and excess revenues, the distinction between discretionary and non-discretionary spending, and how current-year and prior-year balances are allocated under the constitution. A significant portion of the meeting focused on the relationship between Ways and Means and Appropriations. Chairman McFarland stressed that new fiscal-note bills can force cuts elsewhere if revenue is not available, and urged members to coordinate early with fiscal staff before advancing costly legislation. Members also asked how pending constitutional amendments on teacher pay and inventory tax might affect the budget; staff said the teacher stipend proposal is not currently funded in the executive budget and that the inventory tax proposal would mainly affect local governments and any reimbursements from the Revenue Stabilization Fund if approved. The committee then heard from Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bouchoux, who reported strong results from recent reforms, including $92 billion in capital investment, 37,000 new jobs, a record year of announcements, a top-10 corporate tax climate ranking, and a pipeline of 189 active projects representing nearly 42,000 potential jobs and $280 billion in potential investment. Members praised LED’s work and discussed the need to pair economic development with workforce training, infrastructure, and predictable tax policy.

Transcript Highlights:

• Voting on Senate Bill 1567, recommendation to pass with amendments.
• The recommendation is to pass this unamended. Any questions or concerns?
• The recommendation is to pass this unamended. Any questions or concerns?
• </c><00:43:03.880><c> with</c> 1345 recommendation to pass with 1345 recommendation to pass with amendments
• The recommendation is to pass with amendments, noting Senator PLL excused.

Committee: Senate Labor and Technology

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Committee on Labor and Technology heard several labor and personnel measures. Senate Bill 1567 would require the Department of Human Resources Development to conduct a comprehensive review of the executive branch classification and compensation system and allow it to contract with a third party outside normal procurement rules. Director Brana Hashimoto testified in support, saying the state has more than 1,400 classes of work and limited staff to keep the system current; she said outside vendor help and market data are needed to update class specifications, minimum qualifications, and pay structures. She noted the project scope and timeline would depend on funding, and said the governor had approved about $1 million for the effort. Members asked about vendor scope, comparisons to the private sector and other public employers, consolidation of obsolete classes, and whether the exemption from procurement rules would speed the work. The committee also heard Senate Bill 326 on defense of state employees, with testimony in support from HGEA, the Hawaii State AFL-CIO, and the Hawaii State Teachers Association. Senate Bill 337 would expand the pool of interest arbitrators used in collective bargaining disputes by allowing the Hawaii Labor Relations Board to request a list from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and to use arbitrators from both FMCS and the American Arbitration Association; HGEA supported the bill, saying the broader pool would improve selection and address communication issues. Senate Bill 1233 would create a State Internship and Workforce Development Program within DeHerd. The University of Hawaiʻi, HGEA, the Hawaii Primary Care Association, and the Chamber of Commerce supported it. DeHerd said the program could help place interns into vacancies and convert them to civil service jobs, but said it would need about five FTE and roughly $330,000 in salaries to administer a program serving about 50 to 75 interns at a time; members questioned whether the positions could be filled and whether the program could proceed without added resources. The committee then heard Senate Bill 1359, which would increase the employer-based composite monthly contribution to the Hawaii EUTF Benefits Trust Fund beginning in January 2026 and then tie future increases to Medicare Part B premium changes with a lag. The EUTF administrator testified, and a member noted the measure resembled a bill that had died in conference the prior year. Senate Bill 1454 would give the Labor and Industrial Relations director authority to issue wage payment violation orders, establish penalties and appeals, and broaden the definition of wage; the department supported it, explaining it would align procedures under chapter 387 with existing chapter 388 enforcement and make investigations easier. Finally, the committee moved through a series of collective bargaining cost-item bills for various bargaining units and related entities, with testimony generally in support from Budget and Finance, HGEA, UH, HHSC, UPW, and other unions and associations. One amendment request was to include bargaining units 1 and 10 in the temporary hazard pay funding bill, and the Hawaii Fire Fighters Association noted its airport firefighters unit was still in arbitration and would provide final numbers later.

Transcript Highlights:

• If a facility fails to maintain the required insurance, its license can be revoked.
• A shelter that fails to comply with the licensing requirement shall be issued a warning or a fine of

Bills: SB313 , SB296

Committee: House Health & Human Development

Keywords: Delaware Health Fund, healthcare access, preventive care, tobacco settlement, public health initiatives, grant program

Summary: The House Health and Human Development Committee met and considered a series of health, human services, and related bills. The committee heard and advanced House Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 13, which standardizes hospital charity care and financial assistance statewide, and Senate Bill 296 with Senate Amendment 1, which restructures the Delaware Health Fund grant process with a more formal, transparent competitive rubric. Both measures received supportive testimony from DHSS, the Delaware Healthcare Association, and the Delaware Nurses Association, and both were released by committee on roll-call votes. The committee also released Senate Bill 313 with Senate Amendment 1, which places a temporary moratorium on acquisitions of nonprofit acute care hospitals by for-profit entities and expands notice/review requirements for sales of hospital real estate; Senate Bill 340 with Senate Amendment 1, which requires long-term care facilities to carry specified liability insurance, with questions raised about the exemption for state-owned facilities; Senate Joint Resolution 20, which directs DHSS to study independent assessment tools for Medicaid home- and community-based services; and Senate Bill 341, which updates Delaware Health Information Network law and formally recognizes DIN as the state’s health data utility. Testimony on these bills was generally supportive, with some discussion on constitutional concerns, insurance coverage, and the rationale for the state exemption in SB 340. Later, the committee advanced Senate Bill 257, which requires new animal shelters to be licensed and inspected before operating and removes a prior exception for certain rescue organizations; and Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 278 with House Amendment 1, which allows earlier pre-authorization for summer child care enrollment and lowers copays for half-day care. Public testimony on these measures came from animal welfare advocates, YMCA representatives, and other stakeholders, all largely in support. Each bill was released by committee, with several votes walked for absent members, and the meeting adjourned after all agenda items were addressed.

Transcript Highlights:

• With insufficient votes in the house, the A21 fails. gambling, Canterbury Park, electric gambling, Canterbury
• in the house, With insufficient votes in the house, the<00:02:05.560><c> A21</c><00:02:06.200><c> fails

Keywords: 918, senate, all

Summary: The committee took up a series of amendments to the bill. Representative Keagle’s A21 amendment, which would have prohibited online sweepstakes games, raised the paddle wheel prize value, and added Hessian pepper as a social skill game, was discussed with support cited from a broad coalition of organizations, but it failed on a roll call vote. The A27 amendment, directing the Department of Commerce to perform a 62J evaluation of home care nursing services, was then adopted after members described it as a temporary step toward a longer-term solution for disability home care issues. Senator French’s A11 amendment, which raises the cap on deposits into the consumer protection restitution account and changes how those funds are distributed to eligible consumers, was also adopted. Representative O’Driscoll then offered the H.F. 4188 A22 amendment, described by counsel as incorporating language from House File 4333 on short-term and long-term home care insurance; members supported it as a way to expand private insurance options, and it was adopted. Finally, Representative Keagle moved Article 3, Section 11, a provision to reimburse clinical trainees providing mental health services at full rates, and that motion was adopted as well. Afterward, the committee authorized nonpartisan staff to make technical or necessary corrections to the bill, noted that the bill would not be wrapped up that day, and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• So three out of eight, which is probably a failing grade. You mentioned 66 a day per inmate.
• and we're taking the initiative to fix the problem, and nobody's getting reimbursed, that's another failing

Transcript Highlights:

• We hope that you'll pass this.
• If it fails, then we'll work on it next round.
• Okay, we have a motion for a do pass. Any other You can make a motion for a do pass. Yes, Senator.
• So you have a do pass onto the Senate floor.
• With that, you have a do pass. Thank you.

Committee: Senate Senate Education

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Senator King moves, moves that Senate Bill 388 do not pass. Do pass and be printed. Aye.
• Report it favorably to the full Senate with regulation that due pass be printed.
• pass to be printed.
• Senator Campbell moves that Senate Bill 815 do not pass.
• Last session, a couple of significant bills were passed.

Bills: SB213 , SB378 , SB610 , SB681 , SB918 , SB1172 , SB1252 , SB1343 , SCR8

Committee: Senate Business & Commerce

Keywords: SB 213, Texas insurance, Insurance Code, Chapter 551, Chapter 541, bundling, tying arrangement, cross-selling, homeowners insurance, residential property insurance, auto insurance, personal automobile insurance, consumer protection, unfair trade practice, deceptive insurance practice, property and casualty insurer, Lloyd's plan, county mutual, reciprocal exchange, farm mutual

Transcript Highlights:

• Pass the law. This has withstood the test of time. Thank you.
• Air Force veteran that passed.
• A similar bill to this passed in Alabama in 2018.
• I'm not asking for a pass; I'm asking for a chance.
• Please do not pass HB 4553; stand with the family.

Bills: HB3772 , HB1656 , HB4504 , HB1896 , HB4420 , HB4421 , HB4076 , HB3708 , HB2806 , HB3540 , HB1586 , HB5459 , HB4553 , HB4535 , HB3811 , HB3749 , HB4255 , HB4051 , HB5098 , HB3554 , HB4539 , HB5274

Committee: House Public Health

Keywords: e-cigarettes, health and safety, regulations, directory, penalties, regulation, certification, compliance, manufacturers, FDA, nicotine, mental health, emergency detention, paramedic authority, mental illness, healthcare facility, public health, covenants not to compete, health care practitioners, physicians

Transcript Highlights:

• So that part of tax reform did not pass.
• How does the propositions that are on the ballot this spring, how does that pass or fail, how does that
• So I guess if that measure does not pass at the ballot, how does inventory tax... ...not pass at the
• So I don't believe that if that fails to pass, that they're getting rid of their inventory tax, or I'm
• If that measure doesn't pass, but I'm just wondering if it does not pass, the funding that was allocated

Committee: House Ways & Means

Keywords: 965, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The bill is passed. Is agreed to.
• But in 2023, when you decided to pass the paid family medical leave bill...
• First, the Reconciliation Bill passed the U.S. House.
• Thousands of jobs will be created as a result of this bill passing.
• Ayes and 34 nays, the bill as amended is passed, and its title is agreed to.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'll pass the gavel back to our good chairman. Gavel back to our good chairman.
• And I fail to excuse those committee members that were not here at the beginning, and both of them mentioned

Committee: House Agricultural Affairs

Keywords: 989, all