Transcript Highlights:

• Um, it even overlaps into community services, community feeding opportunities.
• Um, it even overlaps into community services, community feeding opportunities.
• Um, it even overlaps into community services, community feeding opportunities.
• Um, it even overlaps into community services, community feeding opportunities.
• Um, it even overlaps into community services, community feeding opportunities.

Committee: Senate Labor and Technology

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Committee on Labor and Technology met on February 25, 2026, to consider gubernatorial nominees to the Hawaii Workforce Development Council under GM 630, GM 628, and GM 631. The chair explained hearing procedures, noted backup reconvening plans in case of technical failure, and said decision-making would occur after testimony if time permitted. Testimony on all three nominees was overwhelmingly supportive, including from Department of Labor and Industrial Relations officials, Workforce Development Council representatives, and various outside supporters. For GM 630, Carrie Miro described decades of work on career pathways and emphasized applied learning, internships, and stronger links between education and employers. Senators questioned how to restore hands-on trade and career education and how to connect students to real workforce opportunities; Miro said businesses should help shape training and that students need both credit and employment incentives. For GM 628, Rona Fukumoto said her experience leading Lanakila Pacific and working in homeless services would help the council better understand the needs of people with disabilities, older adults, and other vulnerable populations, and she stressed educating employers and the public. She also said youth programs, apprenticeships, and early intervention for “opportunity youth” are important, and noted that college-based programs like those at HCC can still provide effective hands-on pathways. For GM 631, Keith Dlo, who is seeking reappointment, said the Workforce Development Council should help create a future in Hawaii for younger generations by aligning schools, agencies, employers, and communities. He said his work on American Job Centers and the council’s convening power show it is an active body, not just a reporting mechanism. Senators pressed him on how to measure success beyond federal compliance, and Dlo said the council needs Hawaii-specific metrics focused on participation, completion, job placement, and retention of young residents, while also adapting to changes like AI. No votes or final confirmations were taken during the portion of the hearing provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• Section one regards community common interest community resources.
• Communication from small developers, emerging small developers, and smaller projects, rural communities
• Community Development to produce a Community Development to produce a report<00:14:36.480><c> investigating
• Section seven, transitioning care to community settings report.
• </c> CEO, Northern County Community Health. CEO, Northern County Community Health.

Keywords: 926, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:09:58.800><c> helped</c> know people from their Community helped know people from their Community
• the community and helping business there.
• </c> connection within the business community connection within the business community on<00:36:18.240
• It's not just about ADC being represented in the community.
• It's not just about ADC being represented in the community.

Committee: Senate Economic Development and Tourism

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Committee on Economic Development and Tourism heard confirmations for two Hawaii Technology Development Corporation board nominees, Jaclyn Ka and Gregory Oara. Testimony for both was overwhelmingly in support. Supporters for Ka emphasized her Kauaʻi roots, work in workforce development and digital equity, and ability to connect schools, industry, and community needs. In her own remarks, Ka said she wants to bring resources to Kauaʻi and the neighbor islands, strengthen local workforce pathways, and use the HTDC board to help local residents access technology jobs and training. Members questioned Ka about how to reduce reliance on mainland hires for jobs at PMRF and other technology employers, how to better align training with local needs, and how to connect Kauaʻi schools, community college programs, and creative media/digital technology efforts. Ka described KDB’s role in building islandwide digital media and drone clubs, professional development for teachers, and partnerships intended to create a pipeline from school to workforce. She also said the legislature can help mainly by listening and staying informed about local needs. For Oara, supporters highlighted his engineering and semiconductor background, his experience in academia, industry, and startups, and his potential to help HTDC with technology commercialization, IP, and exportable services. Oara said he wants HTDC to better support early-stage companies, improve coordination among universities, government, and the private sector, and create a directory of technical skill sets to connect startups with needed expertise. He also discussed AI, saying Hawaii can contribute by developing smaller, locally relevant models rather than only relying on large-scale data-center infrastructure. The hearing focused on these nominations and testimony; no vote or final committee action was stated in the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• So, I'd like to do something for my community.
• We are in communication often with MTC staff.
• And these are community members that have been in my community.
• And the community of Chaparral is also very split.
• safe community.

Committee: House Courts, Corrections & Justice Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• So you believe everything that people tell you in your community, sir?
• They would partner with a TSTC campus or a community college.
• So have you spoken to community colleges about doing this?
• Okay, and so are there community colleges set up to do this already?
• For example, in even rural communities, rural communities that don't have immediate access to a college

Summary: The House convened with prayer, pledges, and several ceremonial recognitions, including Wilson County Day, San Antonio Mission Indian Descendants Day, and Blue Ribbon Lobby Day, along with acknowledgments of visiting groups and a birthday greeting. The chamber also announced committee meetings and then moved into floor business, including conference committee action on Senate Bill 1, the state budget. A series of motions to instruct House conferees on SB 1 were debated and voted on. One motion sought to restore salary for Attorney General Ken Paxton after his impeachment-related suspension; it passed 88-56. Another, from Rep. Olcott, directed conferees to support amendments requiring data collection on the costs of undocumented immigrants in hospitals and prisons; after extended debate and a failed amendment from Rep. Martinez Fischer to also study immigrants’ economic contributions, the motion passed 86-61. The House also adopted instructions to eliminate Texas Lottery Commission funding, to support amendments restricting public education institutions from affirming gender identities inconsistent with biological sex, and to seek an additional $4 billion in property tax relief, with each motion passing on recorded votes. The House then took up a supplemental calendar and passed several bills, including HB 39 on veteran death data, HB 102 on priority registration for certain students entering military service, HB 126 on student-athlete compensation and representation, HB 290 on tuition and fee assistance for members of the Texas military forces, HB 300 on Texas Armed Services Scholarship Program updates, and HB 2143 naming a highway in honor of Army Specialist Joey Lins. The chamber also postponed consideration of HJR 2 and HJR 6. Later, the House considered HB 120 on career and technology education pathways and HB 20 on applied science pathway programs for high school students. HB 120 received a perfecting amendment and was advanced after discussion about workforce preparation. HB 20 prompted extensive questioning about transportation, costs, and how students would access partner campuses such as community colleges and TSTC sites; debate continued as the transcript ended, with members examining how the program would operate and whether approval authority would rest with TEA.

Transcript Highlights:

• Has there been communication with CMS on this rate reduction? Not yet.
• We are working with those communities.
• We are trying to reach communities, sign them up.
• Have we tapped into our community health workers, or are we just doing ads?
• They'll have to close clinics in their communities where few other alternatives exist.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• not just for that individual to recover, but your entire community to recover.
• personal responsibility of landowners and communities to address the needs of their community when it
• The sooner they know, the faster the community as a whole recovers.
• And that's something that's very difficult for a community to move forward from.
• They destroyed our community and nearly everything we possessed.

Summary: The Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy held a hearing on the California Earthquake Authority’s SB 254 report and broader options for reforming California’s utility wildfire recovery system. The chair framed the discussion around the Palisades and Eaton fires, the scale of wildfire-related costs on utility bills, and the need to weigh trade-offs among survivors, ratepayers, utilities, insurers, and taxpayers. The first panel featured wildfire survivors William Abrams and Joy Chen, who described long delays in compensation, housing insecurity, and what they viewed as a system that protects utility shareholders more than victims. They urged greater transparency, clearer accountability for utility spending and safety performance, faster and fuller compensation for survivors, and reforms such as independent audits and better alignment of utility incentives with wildfire prevention and restitution. The second panel began with Tom Welsh of the California Earthquake Authority, who explained that the SB 254 report was intended as a broad inventory of policy pathways rather than recommendations. He described the report’s process, including stakeholder submissions, workstreams, and a convergence process, and outlined the current wildfire fund structure: utilities remain liable, the fund reimburses eligible claims after a covered wildfire, and the CPUC later determines prudency and possible reimbursement back to the fund. RAND’s Lloyd Dixon summarized compensation data, saying utilities paid about $38 billion between 2017 and 2024, with major shares going to injured parties, insurers, and public entities, while litigation costs and survivors’ own losses remain substantial. He noted that legal fees and delays reduce the amount survivors ultimately receive. Utility and public-interest witnesses offered differing views on the report’s pathways. PG&E’s Tyson Smith said the report shows inaction is the worst outcome and argued for community wildfire risk reduction, equitable allocation of catastrophe costs, and state-led resilience tools. LADWP’s Fernando Valero emphasized the vulnerability of municipal utilities and cities, and supported inverse condemnation reform, a state-sponsored liability insurance framework, damages and subrogation limits, and stronger insurance access. Consumer Attorneys of California’s John Fisk argued that IOU-caused fires are not natural disasters but the result of negligence and sometimes criminal conduct, and opposed reducing utility liability while supporting stronger oversight and audits. The Public Advocates Office’s Nathaniel Skinner focused on affordability, saying ratepayers already bear large and growing wildfire costs and warning against shifting more costs onto bills without measurable risk reduction and tighter accountability. Committee members then began questioning witnesses about what counts as measurable mitigation, how to define full and fair compensation, and how any fast-pay process should work.

Transcript Highlights:

• So you believe everything that people tell you in your community, sir?
• So it's envisioned that they would partnership with a TSTC campus or a community. community college and
• Are there community colleges set up to do this already?
• , for example, in even rural communities. rural communities that don't have immediate access to the STC
• I think that's a really important change for our special needs community and for our student community

Bills: HB 120 , HB20 , HB150 , HB6 , HB 100 , HB 124 , HB210 , HB215 , HB1393 , HB1587 , HB 1151 , HB 1268 , HB142 , HB451 , HB39 , HB 102 , HB 126 , HB290 , HB300 , HB2143 , HJR2 , HB147 , HJR6 , HB 120 , HB20 , HB150 , HB6 , HB 100 , HB 124 , HB210 , HB215 , HB1393 , HB1587 , HB 1151 , HB 1268 , HB142 , HB451 , SB1

Keywords: career readiness, education reform, workforce training, public schools, financial aid, applied sciences, career education, high school diploma, certificate program, work-based learning, job placement, high-growth jobs, technical training, cybersecurity, state command, information resources, data protection, incident response, mental health, telehealth

Transcript Highlights:

• Section 25 amends the definition of electioneering communication.
• </c> advocacy to include paid communications advocacy to include paid communications that<00:46:44.400
• Some major spenders communications.
• </c><00:47:01.520><c> as</c> ads by including Paso Communications as ads by including Paso Communications
• These changes will help communications.

Committee: Senate Elections

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• If accommodations are needed for today's hearing or any hearing in the future, please communicate that
• , putting our women—mostly communities putting our women.
• </c><00:44:02.760><c> uh</c> members people in our communities uh members people in our communities uh
• </c><00:47:29.359><c> Support</c> to healthcare and Community Support to healthcare and Community Support
• </c> reimburse independent and Community reimburse independent and Community pharmacists<00:48:45.839

Committee: House Human Services Finance and Policy

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs at River Parish Community College. Thank you, Rep.
• Louisiana's community and technical colleges do strong work preparing people for careers.
• So with the current base that Real Pass Community College had, I get that.
• Chandler-Lebuff with the Louisiana Community Technical Colleges. Okay. Yeah.
• There is something to be learned from this community.

Committee: House Education

Summary: The House Education Committee met on March 18, 2026, with 11 members present and adopted prior meeting minutes without objection. The committee first heard HB 649 by Rep. Brass, which would create a statewide common application portal for dual enrollment. Supporters from the Pelican Institute and the Board of Regents said the bill would simplify enrollment, reduce paperwork for counselors and families, and improve awareness of dual enrollment options. Members asked about nonparticipation by institutions and access for nontraditional students; the bill was reported favorably without objection. The committee then took up HB 807 by Rep. Brass, which would establish the Workforce Instructor Capacity Investment Program within LCTCS to help recruit and retain instructors for high-demand workforce programs. Testimony from River Parishes Community College, Dow, and the Louisiana Chemical Association described instructor shortages as a bottleneck for training workers for major industrial projects, and said employer-sharing models and apprenticeships have been successful. An amendment expanded eligibility to include LSU Eunice and Southern University at Shreveport, and the committee adopted the amendments. After debate about whether the state needed a new fund versus using existing systems, the bill was reported favorably by a 13-1 roll call vote. Next, the committee heard HB 285 by Chairman Bacala, which authorizes school boards to cooperate with banks and credit unions to operate branches in high schools as part of financial literacy programs. Bacala said the bill clarifies statutory authority, and an amendment added banks to the original credit union language. Members discussed ethics, exclusivity, student access, and whether the branches could market products; supporters from LABI and financial industry groups said the programs improve hands-on financial education. The bill was reported with amendments without objection. The committee also considered HB 28 by Rep. Owen, which adds a BESE-level appeal for certain teacher certification applicants affected by administrative or contractor errors. Owen described a case in which applicants paid for certification programs but were denied because of a mentor-signature issue, and said the amendment would require BESE or its designee to act within 30 days. Department of Education staff said the Teacher Certification Appeals Council had already granted extensions rather than outright denials in the affected cases, but the committee advanced the bill after a 9-4 roll call vote. Finally, the committee began HB 268 by Rep. Carver, which would strengthen career exposure requirements for students by tying activities more closely to high-wage, high-demand jobs and adding an annual exposure requirement in K-5; testimony emphasized early workforce awareness, and discussion focused on keeping the requirements manageable for schools.

Transcript Highlights:

• So there's been communication there. I understand.
• So we're being strategic in rolling that out and communicating with them.
• There are a few after-school enrichment programs our community relies on.
• community.
• We have great support from our school and our community.

Committee: Joint Joint Legislative Audit Committee

Summary: The committee first heard a follow-up on the Arizona State Board of Chiropractic Examiners special audit. The Auditor General’s contractor reported that the board has made progress on most of the 28 recommendations from the 2024 audit, with 25 in process and three not yet implemented. Remaining concerns included complaint investigations not being resolved within 180 days, continued open meeting law compliance problems, and failure to consult the Attorney General’s open meeting law experts. The follow-up also identified new issues with posting disciplinary/non-disciplinary actions and maintaining a complete public records request log. Board staff said they had adopted new complaint timelines, subpoena limits, conflict-of-interest procedures, public meeting guidance, training, and a new licensing platform, and they described efforts to professionalize investigations and improve transparency. Members pressed the board on open meeting violations, complaint backlogs, lobbying activity, and the resignation of the board chair, while the executive director said the audit findings were being treated as a roadmap for reform. The committee then received the January 2026 Arizona school district financial risk analysis. The Auditor General’s office said the number of highest-risk districts rose from two to nine, and districts approaching highest risk increased from seven to nine. The report highlighted common risk factors such as declining student counts, budget reserve problems, use of capital funds for operations, and weakening general fund positions. Tucson Unified was used as an example of a highest-risk district, with declining enrollment, reserve declines, and capital funds redirected to operations; Scottsdale Unified was cited as approaching highest risk. The office explained its web-based dashboard, district action plans, and ongoing outreach to affected districts. Sierra Vista Unified School District superintendent Terry Romo then presented the district’s response to its financial risk designation. She said she inherited the problems, quickly developed an action plan, and is working to stabilize enrollment, reduce staffing through attrition, close an elementary school, freeze nonessential spending, tighten purchase controls, and renegotiate or cancel high-cost contracts. She also said the district is redirecting DAA funds, considering sale or lease of property, and improving communication with families through letters, videos, and enrollment outreach. Committee members questioned the district about declining enrollment, school safety, academic performance, and the pace of corrective action, while Romo emphasized that the district is trying to protect both students and finances and avoid returning to the high-risk list.

Transcript Highlights:

• He saw firsthand the effects of community fluoridation when he practiced dentistry here in Frankfort
• For over 70 years, community afternoon.
• 58.320><c> historically</c> communities, especially in historically communities, especially in historically
• </c><00:38:18.160><c> losing</c> that would result in communities losing that would result in communities
• </c><00:46:28.319><c> don't</c> option where those communities don't option where those communities don't

Committee: House Local Government

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00:10 Roll Call 00:00:24 HB 108 Discussion 00:03:45 HB 108 Vote 00:05:15 HB 194 Discussion 00:07:13 HB 194 Vote 00:09:45 HB 276 Discussion 00:11:53 HB 276 Vote 00:13:35 HB 290 Discussion 00:15:32 HB 290 Vote 00:18:29 HB 103 Discussion 00:20:31 HB 103 Vote 00:46:59 Adjournment 00:50:36, 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It's empowering and emboldening our communities and making them aware of the risks.
• Sorry, what is the, the communication?
• Living communities, this bill also impacts the licensure process.
• I'm general counsel of Touchstone Communities Inc.
• So our community, as I mentioned, recently went through this.

Bills: HB 2510 , HB 3589 , HB 4611 , HB 4655 , HB 4665 , HB 4666 , HB 4670 , HB 4700 , HB 4730 , HB 4798 , HB 4838 , HB 5136 , HB 5243 , HB 5302 , HB 5539

Committee: House Human Services

Keywords: assisted living, healthcare, licensing, criminal offense, personal assistance, group home, regulation, health and safety, inspections, resident care, criminal background checks, adoption, parental rights, registry, vital statistics, disclosure, counseling, foster care, independent living, financial literacy

Transcript Highlights:

• And I really appreciate your communication, and thanks for your time.
• college district, every community college district, to everything.
• It would rank 24th as a community among nations in GDP, one county.
• And Senator, to your point, I think we have been transparent in those communications with the communities
• the communities.

Committee: Senate Transportation

Summary: The Senate Transportation Committee held an informational hearing on the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s 2026 draft business plan, with testimony from the authority, the Legislative Analyst’s Office, and the High-Speed Rail Inspector General. Chair Cortese framed the hearing around the project’s recent changes: a new CEO, revised delivery strategy, loss of federal funds, renewed interest in private financing and value capture, and proposed adjustments to the Merced-to-Bakersfield segment. He also raised concerns about statutory compliance, transparency, and whether the draft plan fully reflects required elements and true costs and timelines. Authority CEO Ian Chaudhry said the project has made substantial construction progress in the Central Valley and is moving toward track installation, with the state’s $1 billion annual cap-and-invest funding providing a stable base. He argued the plan uses design optimization, direct procurement of materials, and revised sequencing to reduce costs and support an early operating segment by about 2032-33. He also promoted broader commercialization of the corridor through real estate, energy, broadband, logistics, and public-private partnerships, saying private sector interest is now real. Several senators pressed him on station locations, tax increment financing, utility relocation authority, permitting delays, transparency, and whether the project can realistically reach Los Angeles and San Francisco on the current timeline and budget. The LAO and Inspector General were more skeptical. LAO analyst Helen Kirstine said the draft plan assumes major scope changes, including a shorter segment, a Merced station outside downtown, more single-tracking, and several statutory changes that have not yet been enacted. She warned that the plan may not comply with recent legislative requirements, that funding may still be insufficient even for the reduced segment, and that borrowing against future cap-and-invest revenues is risky because those revenues are uncertain and volatile. Inspector General Ben Belknap said the draft plan fails to comply with newer statutory requirements, especially regarding the Merced-to-Bakersfield scope, the funding plan, and missing procurement milestone dates. He said the presentation obscures cost increases and schedule delays and limits the Legislature’s ability to compare current estimates with prior reports. Committee members generally supported continued oversight and some form of project delivery reform, but several expressed concern that the plan relies on legislative changes that have not been approved and on private financing that may not materialize. Chaudhry said the authority would address the Inspector General’s findings in the final business plan and continue to pursue federal grants, private capital, and corridor commercialization. No vote was taken at the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• And I really appreciate your communication, and thanks for your time.
• And I really appreciate your communication, and thanks for your time.
• college district, every community college district, to everything.
• It would rank 24th as a community among nations in GDP—one county.
• And Senator, to your point, I think we have been transparent in those communications with the communities

Committee: Senate Transportation

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm going to help my family, my community, to make more money and to spend that money in my community
• , working-class communities of color.
• That guarantee and prioritize those front-line communities, those vulnerable communities, in quality
• and being a servant to my community.
• and being a servant to my community.

Committee: Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement

Summary: The committee heard SB 921, which would create a tax credit to help agricultural employers offset overtime premium costs for farmworkers. Senator Grove and supporters, including farmworkers, the California Farm Bureau, and agricultural groups, argued the bill would restore lost hours and take-home pay after California’s agricultural overtime law reduced schedules. Opponents, including the California Federation of Labor Unions and CRLA Foundation, argued the proposal would subsidize employers with taxpayer dollars and undermine the principle that employers should pay overtime themselves. The bill was held in subcommittee until more members arrived. The committee then took up SB 1083, a cleanup bill to the prior year’s school employee misconduct database law. The author and supporters said it would add due process protections for classified school employees, require an administrative law judge review before placement in the database, and improve notice and vetting rules for contractors and non-permanent staff. School employer groups and other opponents warned the bill could slow investigations and weaken child-safety protections. The committee approved the bill 3-0 and sent it to Senate Appropriations. Members also considered SB 1089, which would require CalPERS health plans to cover GLP-1 medications and expand access through CalRX for chronic weight management and related health conditions. The author and supporters, including the American Diabetes Association and medical groups, said the drugs can prevent diabetes and improve health outcomes but remain unaffordable for many. Pharma representatives expressed concerns about the bill as drafted but said they were open to continued discussions. The bill passed 4-0 to Appropriations. The committee also approved the consent calendar 4-0. Later, the committee heard SB 954, which would narrow and add guardrails to last year’s CEQA exemption for advanced manufacturing, including environmental review near disadvantaged communities and labor standards such as prevailing wage and skilled-and-trained workforce requirements. Labor, environmental, and community groups supported the bill as a cleanup of an overly broad exemption, while business and manufacturing groups opposed it, warning it would discourage investment and worsen California’s competitiveness. The bill passed 3-1 to Appropriations. Finally, SB 1299, a fire sprinkler fitter certification bill, was heard and passed 3-0 to Appropriations with support from the sprinkler fitters and building trades and no recorded opposition.

Transcript Highlights:

• Native American community. You know, we talk about emergency.
• So I look forward to ...for their needs in their communities.
• But they are still disabled and simply too sick for our current community system.
• Care in the community, not just short episodes of crisis care.
• And maybe you have a different protocol for how you're going to communicate.

Committee: Senate Senate Health and Human Services COR

Summary: The committee first approved the February 4 minutes, then heard Senate Bill 1086, which would require AHCCCS contractors to reimburse non-contracting providers for certain lab services when a member was referred by a contracting provider and would bar prior authorization for diagnostic services. The sponsor said the bill was intended to address unpaid claims and improve access, while Access testified neutral but warned the prior-authorization ban could increase utilization and create a fiscal impact. The committee adopted the Warner amendment limiting non-contracting reimbursement rates to no more than contracting rates, then passed SB 1086 as amended on a 4-2 vote. The committee then took up Senate Bill 1611, an emergency measure to require Access to contract with an administrative services organization for the American Indian Health Plan, while keeping Access ultimately responsible for administration. The chair’s amendment expanded ASO duties to include provider support, quality improvement, and data analytics, removed Access claims-payment authority, added tribal observers to the selection committee, and exempted IHS and tribal-facility services. The sponsor and tribal witnesses described the bill as a response to fraud, provider nonpayment, and harm to Native communities, while Access raised concerns about the fast timeline, tribal consultation requirements, possible duplication of program-integrity functions, and fiscal uncertainty. After debate over the emergency clause and tribal consultation, the committee adopted the amendment and passed SB 1611 as amended on a 5-2 vote. The committee also heard Senate Bill 1630, which would direct Access to seek federal approval for a Medicaid home- and community-based services program for adults with serious mental illness. Supporters said the bill would create a long-term community-care option for the sickest SMI members, reduce cycling through hospitals, jails, and homelessness, and potentially save state general fund dollars; family members and advocates testified in support. Access was neutral and said it was finalizing a fiscal estimate. The Angus amendment narrowed eligibility to long-term SMI, reduced the enrollment cap from 500 to 250, changed reporting to semiannual, and removed priority-order language; the committee adopted the amendment and passed SB 1630 as amended unanimously. Later, the committee passed Senate Bill 1193, which protects emergency medical care technicians’ personal identifying information from sale or disclosure by the Department of Health Services, after adopting a clarifying amendment expanding the protected information and addressing commercial requests. It then heard Senate Bill 1318, which repeals the state’s separate dense-breast notification requirement so Arizona law aligns with the FDA’s newer mammography notice standard; the sponsor and DHS said the change would reduce confusion from duplicate, slightly different notices, and the bill was moving forward with discussion of possible future amendment language.

Transcript Highlights:

• Excuse me, I'm going to hit community gardens, zero-hour and community-based walking programs.
• Excuse me, I'm going to hit community gardens, zero-hour and community-based walking programs.
• But I also have communications experts within the agency, and they’re setting up the cadence of communication
• So more dollars would open up to expand walking programs across communities, community gardens, zero-hour
• So, timely responses and communication would help.

Summary: The committee met with a quorum, approved the March 18 minutes, and then received a series of updates on major health-related projects and programs. CHI St. Alexius representatives reported progress on behavioral health buildouts in Bismarck, Williston, and Grand Forks, including demolition and construction milestones, staffing plans, and timelines. The Bismarck project remains on track for completion in June 2027 with about $346,500 spent to date. Williston reported construction underway, a $750,000 unbudgeted air handler replacement, active recruitment for psychiatrists and other staff, and a projected substantial completion in early 2027. Grand Forks reported about 30% completion, weather-tight status expected in August, and continued staffing ramp-up as the facility expands from its current 24-bed operation. The Department of Health and Human Services then reviewed a set of technical line-item transfers, emphasizing that they were administrative corrections with no net change in funding. The department also walked through the Salaries and Wages Block Grant and FTE counts, noting overall staffing remained within appropriated limits and that behavioral health staffing had increased. Members asked about vacancies, consultant use, and the mix of in-state versus out-of-state expertise for the Rural Health Transformation Program. HHS said it had posted 12 funding opportunities, received 422 applications, obligated $8.4 million so far, hired 26 people, and was preparing additional grant rounds and a CMS budget submission. The department said the program is structured around workforce, prevention/healthy living, care closer to home, and technology/data, with ongoing stakeholder engagement and community forums. The committee also heard on the certified community behavioral health clinic implementation plan, SNAP payment error rates, and the state laboratory project. HHS said CCBHC certification is being implemented in four regions—Williston, Minot/North Central, Fargo/Southeast, and Dickinson/Badlands—with care coordination expanding and baseline data still being collected. On SNAP, the department reported a 2025 payment error rate of 9.89%, acknowledged cost impacts under HR1, and said it is using training, system changes, and pre-authorization quality checks to reduce errors toward a 6% target over the next 6 to 12 months. Finally, Public Health reported the state laboratory reached substantial completion on June 12, with total costs at $69.95 million of the $70 million budget, though a service elevator issue will require a new lift to be added using contingency funds.

Transcript Highlights:

• There were many communication breakdowns.
• community sewer.
• community sewer.
• This is a community sewer system, and we're going to ask to pass them out, but these are community sewer
• when we have community systems.

Committee: House Health and Welfare

Summary: The committee met on March 25 and first took up HB 199, which would extend Louisiana’s nursing home moratorium. Chairman Miller amended the bill to shorten the extension from five years to four, moving the termination date to July 1, 2031. Rep. Barault argued the state faces a growing bed-capacity problem and proposed an amendment to exempt St. Tammany Parish; Rep. Cruz offered a substitute to reduce the extension to three years. The Nursing Home Association said it had negotiated in good faith and supported the four-year compromise, while the Pelican Institute opposed the moratorium as anti-competitive. A St. Tammany resident testified that her mother faced a long wait for placement and that more local beds are needed. The three-year substitute and the St. Tammany exemption both failed, and HB 199 was reported favorably with the four-year amendment. The committee then favorably reported HB 223 to recreate the Department of Children and Family Services for four more years, with Secretary Rebecca Harris saying the department’s recent reorganization has allowed it to focus more directly on child safety and child welfare. Members discussed planned reforms such as differentiated response, stronger community-based care, and the transfer of TANF to Louisiana Works in 2027. HB 907, which grants civil and criminal immunity for the use or distribution of expired naloxone or other opioid antagonists, also passed with technical amendments; public health officials and members emphasized that expired naloxone remains effective enough to save lives and should still be used in emergencies. HB 535, which streamlines hospital-based acknowledgements of paternity by allowing notarization without two witnesses, was reported favorably after Woman’s Hospital testified that the change would speed up paternity establishment, child support enforcement, and the addition of fathers to birth certificates. HB 554, which would increase penalties for violations at health care facilities and require LDH reporting, drew testimony from a family member describing serious care failures and from LDH, which said it already has caps on fines and that the bill would not change those caps. Rep. Jackson amended the bill to require LDH to publish fines assessed and collected and to list facilities with repeated immediate jeopardy or actual harm deficiencies, but the bill was then voluntarily deferred for a week to allow further discussion with the department. The committee also reported HB 224, a largely technical update to the Children’s Code recommended by the Louisiana State Law Institute, HB 246, which updates membership of the Children’s Cabinet Advisory Board and related bodies, and HB 405, which updates the name of the national acupuncture certifying organization. HB 222, requiring Medicaid coverage for certain dental procedures when needed to clear patients for other medically necessary treatment, was reported favorably despite a fiscal note. Finally, HB 235 on sewer systems generated extensive discussion: Rep. Fontenot described rising sewer rates, poor maintenance, and sewage overflows in his district, and argued for allowing property owners to install private sewer treatment systems in certain circumstances. Members raised concerns about local control, PSC rate-setting, and whether local governments should have more authority over sewer service decisions; the bill was still under discussion when the transcript ended.