Transcript Highlights:

• public school K-12 pre-K that we're funding.
• I mean, some of, there's a few schools that are up in enrollment. Right?
• You know, he and I both have experience as classroom teachers in the high school setting.
• diploma, you know, whether or not you can show up to school and get a high school diploma does matter
• So are we expecting tuition at that school to support the research and development?

Committee: House Budget

Summary: The committee heard extended discussion of the chair’s House budget substitute, especially House Bill 2 for elementary and secondary education and House Bill 3 for higher education. The chair said the operating budget leaves roughly $300 million in reserve, explained several cuts and restorations, and described proposed changes to child care, including cutting enhancement payments and keeping attendance-based rather than enrollment-based subsidy payments. Representative Fogle objected to the child care cuts and the proposed language limiting the department’s move to prospective payment and enrollment-based reimbursement; State Budget Director Dan Hogg testified that the governor’s office still intended to move to payment on enrollment in May if the budget language did not block it, while prospective payment remained under review because of federal funding concerns. The chair also explained a restriction on Parents as Teachers services for children already in public pre-K, and members debated whether that would reduce duplication or improperly limit services. The chair further proposed a new competitive Title I innovation grant program funded by a reallocation of some Title I dollars, with questions raised about what services would be reduced to offset it. The bulk of the meeting focused on a major higher education funding overhaul in House Bill 3. The chair and vice chair proposed replacing the current base-plus model with an FTE-based formula that would distribute the same overall state funding according to student credit hours, with community colleges funded on a 12-hour FTE, four-year undergraduate students on a 15-hour FTE, and graduate enrollment discussed as a separate issue. They said the goal was to make funding follow students rather than institutions and to reduce long-standing disparities between schools. Several members supported the idea as overdue and more transparent, while others warned it was being done too quickly and could harm institutions with high-cost programs, research missions, or smaller enrollments. Concerns were raised about possible closures, accreditation problems, and unintended effects on workforce programs such as nursing, engineering, and technical training. The chair and vice chair said there was no intent to force consolidation, but acknowledged that some institutions would gain and others would lose under the new model. Members also questioned how the formula would treat research and doctoral funding, especially at the University of Missouri, and whether graduate programs were properly counted. The chair said some special-purpose lines were retained, but a large portion of MU’s research and doctoral funding was folded into the broader pool and redistributed through the FTE model. Several members asked for clarification on whether graduate hours were counted at nine credits, and the chair said he was not certain and would seek follow-up from staff or the department. Community college representatives were discussed as having unanimously opposed the recommendation, and the chair noted that the institutions were briefed only shortly before the hearing. No votes were taken during the exchange, and the committee appeared to be gathering testimony and concerns ahead of markup and future action on the budget bills.

Transcript Highlights:

• So this is a the artisan schools. Okay.
• Many schools through arts education.
• All State of Hawaii public schools and public charter schools, grades pre-K through 12, are eligible
• </c><00:14:14.480><c> that</c> and you'll see more of the schools that and you'll see more of the schools
• 49.119><c> projects,</c> sometimes with schools um projects, sometimes with schools um projects, there's

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Law school this fall as a first-year law student. So thank you so much to Team TMF.
• Our legislative director, Christian Aguirre, is a recent UT LBJ School graduate.
• LBJ School to be here in Texas.
• His defibrillator in schools bill, we walked over.
• HR 1538 by Ashby, recognizing the Cal Allen High School softball team.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• AB 382 will also give our cities and schools more local control over what school zone standard works
• across the state... ...what works for a school in downtown San Francisco may not work for a school in
• lives just to get to school.
• Hello, Leilani Aguinaldo on behalf of Fresno Unified School District and Oakland Unified School District
• And I have a middle school very near me, and... ...up to 28 miles an hour, and I have a middle school

Summary: The Assembly Transportation Committee heard a series of bills focused on transportation safety, climate resilience, wildlife connectivity, parking enforcement, and EV charging reliability. AB 605 would create a pilot program allowing certain hydrogen internal combustion cargo-handling equipment at ports; supporters said it could help ports stay competitive while reducing emissions, while South Coast AQMD raised concerns about possible nitrogen oxide emissions and limits on future regulation. The bill passed on an 11-0 vote to the Natural Resources Committee. AB 1132 would require Caltrans to incorporate community resilience indicators, including socioeconomic factors, into climate vulnerability assessments; supporters from Greenlining, AARP, and others said it would better protect seniors, people with disabilities, and transit users during heat waves and disasters, while some members questioned the cost during a tight budget year. It passed 9-0 to Appropriations, with some members not voting. AB 382 would lower school-zone speed limits to 20 mph and give local agencies more flexibility in how the limit is posted and enforced; supporters cited child pedestrian deaths and safety research, and the bill passed 11-0 to Appropriations. AB 902, as amended, would require transportation projects in wildlife connectivity areas to include wildlife passage features where feasible; supporters emphasized reduced collisions and habitat fragmentation, while the California Building Industry Association and COGs moved from opposition to neutral after amendments. It passed 9-1 to Local Government. AB 1014 would give Caltrans more discretion to lower speed limits on state highways based on local conditions rather than the 85th percentile rule; supporters said it would improve safety in rural and tourist areas, and the bill passed 13-0 to Appropriations. AB 1022 would end towing or booting vehicles solely for unpaid parking tickets, with supporters describing the practice as punitive and harmful to low-income drivers, while cities and parking groups argued it would weaken enforcement and create problems for out-of-state vehicles. The bill passed 9-3 to Appropriations. AB 1423 would require publicly funded EV chargers to meet reliability standards and allow enforcement of uptime requirements; supporters said taxpayers need functioning chargers, while charging-industry opponents objected to retroactive standards and possible conflicts with existing agreements. The bill passed 14-0 to Utilities and Energy. The committee also approved a consent calendar of five bills by voice vote and held roll calls open for additional members to add on.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> children just based on updated school children just based on updated school census<00:08:41.240>
• </c> school, what happened to her. school, what happened to her.
• </c><00:42:18.680><c> She</c> stopped wanting to go to school. She stopped wanting to go to school.
• and a special needs school.
• </c><00:55:24.880><c> or</c> not taking their children to school or not taking their children to school

Bills: HF3415

Committee: House Children and Families Finance and Policy

Keywords: child care, day care, licensed child care center, license-exempt child care, immigration enforcement, ICE, Customs and Border Protection, CBP, USCIS, Department of Homeland Security, DHS, judicial warrant, facility access, sensitive locations, immigrant families, Minnesota Statutes chapter 142B, 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• We also have expanded our school residencies.
• </c> also have expanded our school also have expanded our school residencies<00:05:05.919><c> uh</c><
• </c><00:19:51.159><c> will</c> able to sign up for in high school will able to sign up for in high school
• </c> program has been benefiting schools program has been benefiting schools teachers<00:27:13.960><c
• </c><00:30:03.360><c> also</c> competition sport there are schools also competition sport there are schools

Committee: Senate Environment, Climate, and Legacy

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They arrive to school hungry.
• They arrive to school hungry.
• Despite his challenges, Kane was committed to staying in school.
• he was reading well below his grade level into high school.
• In KIN-GAP, it terminates at 19 if they're going through high school.

Summary: The committee heard several child welfare, food assistance, child care, and developmental services bills. AB 308 would require a statewide evaluation of regional center safety training and crisis-response services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities; supporters said it would help reduce reliance on law enforcement and improve de-escalation and emergency preparedness. AB 1049 would remove sponsor deeming from the California Food Assistance Program, with supporters from food banks and legal aid arguing the rule creates confusion, chilling effects, and wrongful denials, while one member raised concerns about accountability and fraud. AB 1201 would narrow when a parent’s prior violent felony can bar reunification services, limiting the bypass to offenses involving a child or a child’s other parent/guardian; county and advocacy witnesses said the bill preserves judicial discretion and avoids automatic denials, though a member expressed concern about child safety in violent or criminal environments. AB 2379 would require family child care providers to be notified of constitutional rights and receive multilingual training regarding immigration enforcement; it drew broad support and no opposition. AB 2429 would make ACEs screening optional and reduce required classroom observations in the early childhood mental health consultation program, with supporters saying it would reduce administrative burdens and expand participation. AB 1755 would eliminate CalWORKs’ 100-hour monthly work penalty for two-parent families, and supporters said it would reduce poverty and administrative burden without changing income eligibility. AB 1981, presented later, would advance “true cost of care” child care rate reform, with providers describing the current reimbursement system as unsustainable. AB 2478 would create a streamlined kinship family approval pathway for foster care placements with relatives and other kin, and AB 1969 and AB 1996 would create statewide structures to coordinate cradle-to-career services and reduce child poverty, respectively; both were presented as data-driven, place-based efforts to align services and set measurable reduction goals. Most bills received strong support from county agencies, advocacy organizations, and service providers, with little or no opposition testimony. Members generally praised the goals of the measures but asked questions about implementation, accountability, and child safety in the reunification and benefits bills. The committee took roll calls on the bills it heard, and the votes shown in the transcript were largely unanimous or near-unanimous, with several measures held on call after passing committee votes. AB 1049 was voted out 2-1, AB 1201 and AB 2379 were each voted out 3-0, AB 2429 and AB 1755 were voted out 2-0, and AB 2478, AB 1969, and AB 1996 were each voted out 2-0; the chair repeatedly noted that some bills would remain on call pending absent members. AB 1981 drew extensive support testimony from child care providers and allies, but the committee did not take a final vote in the portion of the transcript provided because no motion was available at that moment.

Transcript Highlights:

• Most of school my kids have gone to.
• </c><01:14:46.880><c> districts</c> department can assist school districts department can assist school
• Just a reminder to the Select Committee on School Facilities.
• We will meet tomorrow school facilities.
• </c><01:40:14.000><c> School</c> have it in front of me. School have it in front of me.

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• schools.
• schools to say.
• Of course, the schools have to want to do it too, and we've seen some middle schools that already have
• Let's get the charter school going because I think that's where successful charter schools do is they
• As a matter of fact, even the school. Of the State of Arizona Architectural School.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> in cooperative school districts. in cooperative school districts.
• , bye-bye school.
• </c> school. Bye-bye school. school.
• Its school closure inconsistency.
• </c><04:35:14.879><c> It</c> vote on the closure of schools. It vote on the closure of schools.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We share this reality with our Muslim brothers and sisters, who are vilified in our communities, schools
• My name is Dalia Barbouche, and I’m currently a freshman in high school.
• My peers in the public school system have shared that their schools often teach that Islam is inherently
• My peers in the public school system have shared that their schools often teach that Islam is inherently
• allow the state government to begin to address the subtle Islamophobia embedded in Massachusetts school

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight reopened a hearing on several bills related to public commissions, diversity on boards, and honorary or representative designations. Most of the testimony focused on bills promoting the rights and inclusion of American Muslims, including support for a Muslim commission that would recommend qualified Muslim residents for appointments, assess state programs’ effects on the community, and advise lawmakers. Witnesses described Islamophobia, discrimination in schools and public spaces, and the need for Muslim representation in government. One speaker, Ahmed Svahani, opposed the Muslim commission bill, arguing it could allow the state to define who counts as a “real Muslim,” create an official class, and silence dissenting voices. Other testimony supported a bill to promote diversity on public boards and commissions, with Mass NOW arguing that boards should better reflect the state’s racial and gender diversity and that diverse boards make better decisions. Mass Equality testified in support of a commission on the status of transgender people, citing federal restrictions on gender-affirming care, discrimination in housing, employment, and education, and gaps in existing representation. The National Lawyers Guild’s Massachusetts chapter also supported the Muslim commission bill, citing civil-rights concerns and increased reports of discrimination and retaliation against Muslims. No votes were taken on the bills themselves during the hearing. At the end of testimony, a motion was made and seconded to close the hearing, and the committee voted in favor of adjournment, ending the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• We have recently made the app even more convenient by enabling payments directly to schools.
• Funds can be used nationwide for two- and four-year colleges, graduate school, trade schools, career
• Your handout also includes the top 21 schools that are receiving Ideal distributions.
• While many are higher education institutions, there are some private K-12 schools listed as well.
• Are you going into the schools? How are you getting this information out?

Committee: Senate Education

Summary: The Senate Education Committee approved the minutes from January 28, January 29, and February 2, 2026, and then voted to print RS 33-246, which related to pending and temporary rules from the State Board of Education’s Division of Career Technical Education. No opposition was noted on the minutes or the RS, and the motions carried by voice vote. The committee then received an update on the Ideal Idaho College Savings Program (Idaho’s 529 plan) from Executive Director Don Hall. He described the program’s structure as self-funded and governed by a board of constitutional officers, and reviewed its tax advantages, investment options, and expanded uses for K-12, higher education, trade schools, apprenticeships, student loan repayment, and Roth IRA rollovers. He also highlighted recent growth, including an 11% increase in new accounts, broader use in north and central Idaho, and employer participation through payroll direct deposit and a state tax credit for employer contributions. Members asked about whether state tax credits could be combined with 529 deductions and about outreach efforts for the program. Hall said he would verify the tax-credit question and report back, and he outlined current outreach through social media, broadcasters, libraries, schools, sports sponsorships, and chambers of commerce. Senators suggested additional outreach at kids’ fairs. The committee concluded without further action and adjourned until the next day.

Transcript Highlights:

• I served as a high school Sunday school teacher and youth leader for 14 years.
• They are bullied and picked on and feel unsafe in their schools and community.
• So it's Boise School District. Is that correct? Mr. Kanzati? Mr.
• Chairman and Representative Haas, so it's Boise School District.
• girl to in the Boise High School bathroom.

Committee: House State Affairs

Keywords: 989, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So on initial placement, currently we accept intakes at Green Hill School and Echo Glen.
• So we’ve been piloting that at Green Hill School.
• We are still overcrowded a little bit at Green Hill School. I think today they’re at about 201.
• And the Washington School for the Deaf is an American Sign Language-English bilingual school located
• So we've got foster licenses, we've got the School for the Deaf, and a bunch of other stuff.

Summary: The committee first took up House Bill 1544, which would require DCYF to study and improve the risk assessment tool used in child abuse and neglect investigations, including better identifying family strengths and needs, substance use-related risk, and service needs, and to certify the tool every three years. Staff explained the bill and noted it had passed the committee unanimously in substitute form last year. The prime sponsor, Representative Rule, said the tool would help reduce bias and support better decisions about child safety. Members raised questions about whether the bill would require new data systems or create a fiscal impact, and DCYF testified that the recertification process would focus on evidence-based literature and fidelity to the tool, though the agency acknowledged limitations in its data system. Support testimony from Partners for Our Children and DCYF emphasized that the current tool is not evidence-based and that the department is piloting the North Carolina Family Assessment Scale. The hearing on HB 1544 was then closed. The committee then received a lengthy work session from DCYF on juvenile rehabilitation. Juvenile Rehabilitation Assistant Secretary Jennifer Redman and security classification administrator Jeff Endermark described a growing JR population that is older, serving more adult-sentence youth, and projected to rise to about 481 by 2031. They said Green Hill School remains crowded, Harbor Heights is being brought online as a short-term option, and Echo Glen is near safe operational capacity. They explained JR’s classification system, behavior management process, and the role of multidisciplinary teams in placement decisions, as well as the expansion of community transition services (CTS), which uses electronic home monitoring for eligible youth. Staff described CTS eligibility, supervision expectations, and examples of successful placements, but also said the program needs more after-hours staffing and community supports. Members questioned the validity and equity of the risk tools, the availability of community resources, the impact of behavior policies and escapes, the use of single bunking, and broader concerns about lawsuits and sexual abuse in the system. JR reported an escape rate increase from 1.78 per 100 youth in 2001 to 3.92 in 2025 and said additional capacity and staffing are still needed. The committee then heard House Bill 2219, which would allow child care centers more flexibility in mixed-age grouping during parts of the day and waive repeated DCYF pre-service orientation for people who have already completed it. The prime sponsor, Representative Ortiz-Self, said the bill is meant to ease burdens on small providers. Testifiers from SEIU 925, a family child care provider, the Washington Child Care Centers Association, a child care center director, and the Children’s Campaign Fund supported the bill as a practical way to improve staffing flexibility and reduce duplicative licensing requirements, though one association asked that the bill’s daily time caps on mixed-age grouping be revised or removed. The committee then heard House Bill 2253, an agency-request technical corrections bill for DCYF licensing. Staff said it would allow child-specific licenses for certain relatives under interstate placements, exempt kinship caregivers from blood-borne pathogen training, remove licensing exemptions for physicians and lawyers, allow termination of inactive licenses, revise crisis residential center staffing ratios, and eliminate state monitoring requirements for the Washington School for the Deaf residential program. Members asked about how inactivity would be defined and whether the School for the Deaf inspections had historically produced savings. DCYF said the bill would help right-size licensing workloads after budget cuts and would let the agency work with stakeholders to define inactivity in rule. Testimony from DCYF, Community Youth Services, and Partners for Our Children supported the bill, especially the staffing ratio fix for crisis residential centers and the child-specific licensing changes for relatives.

Transcript Highlights:

• And then the other statutory change that was up there is we added $330 million for public schools in
• So all of those growth impacts... ...in public schools that are all statutorily driven, right?
• PISF also has a statutory cap of 15% of the public schools appropriation.
• , the schools to actually come into our plan.
• I think they're breaking out separately. teachers, the schools to actually come into our plan.

Summary: The committee met as JFAC for a statewide budget overview and related process presentations. Keith Bybee of LSO walked members through the general fund outlook, emphasizing that projected revenues for FY 2026 and FY 2027 are below current budgeted spending, creating a structural imbalance that will require either budget reductions or use of one-time cash and reserve balances. He highlighted major statutory cost drivers over the last several years, including public defense, IT services, Medicaid expansion, public schools, and water resources, and reviewed cash reconciliation items, transfers, supplementals, rescissions, and the governor’s proposed use of various fund balances and interest earnings to help balance the budget. Members asked about the deficit, corrections costs, tax conformity timing, fire suppression deficiency funds, and whether stabilization funds should be used; Bybee stressed that the Legislature has options but must decide whether to rely on short-term money or make longer-term structural changes. Janet Jessup then explained the budget hearing process and the Legislative Budget Book, including historical summaries, fund analyses, organizational charts, five-year snapshots, performance measures, and enhancement/outcome reporting. Morgan Poloni followed with an overview of deficiency warrants and supplemental appropriations, explaining that deficiency warrants cover certain authorized expenses after they occur and are typically used for items like fire suppression or pest control, while supplementals adjust the current year appropriation and can apply to general, dedicated, or federal funds. She noted that deficiency warrant requests have grown in recent years, largely due to pest control, and that supplemental and rescission bills may require emergency clauses to take effect immediately. Francis Lippett presented on state health insurance costs, saying FY 2024 spending on health and dental insurance was $646.2 million and that costs are rising faster than in prior years. She explained how the state uses employee premiums, a sweep account, and reserve balances to stabilize the plan, and said the FY 2027 appropriation is expected to rise about 14 percent, with employee premiums projected to increase 7.3 percent to maintain the current 80/20 cost split. Members asked about why premiums are charged for benefit-eligible employees who decline coverage, how reserve targets are set, how school district employees fit into the state plan, and how the state selects its insurance carrier; the Division of Insurance administrator said the plan is administered by Regence under a multi-year contract and that the state will rebid the plan within the contract term.

Transcript Highlights:

• We want to try to set them up in our schools mostly.
• No, so the schools actually, um, schools is another opportunity where, um, and this is actually, um,
• We want to try to set them up in our schools mostly.
• So the schools actually, um, schools is another opportunity where, um, and this is actually, um, I don't
• Again, the schools are not targeted.

Committee: House Finance

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> the school systems. the school systems.
• </c> in NSHA we do not have a separate school in NSHA we do not have a separate school budget.<00:55:
• One is that the rebates would go against not just the SWEP tax, but also the school tax, the local school
• funding and the larger issue is school funding and the larger issue is is<01:34:40.159><c> school</c
• </c> The Jeffrey Ring School Cooperative School District will have its deliberative session.

Committee: House Ways and Means

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• would prefer to just stay at their high school campus and just be high school students.
• </c> available at their high school campus. available at their high school campus.
• </c> and just be high school students. and just be high school students.
• I knew the Pell Grant was a school.
• </c> acceptance rate into medical school. acceptance rate into medical school.

Committee: Senate Higher Education

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I think freshman in high school.
• Our schools don't have AEDs. I'm assuming if this is state buildings, this would include schools.
• </c><00:22:49.400><c> I'm</c> Our schools don't have AEDs. I'm Our schools don't have AEDs.
• </c> this would include schools. this would include schools.
• </c> We have people dying in our schools We have people dying in our schools because<00:22:56.600><c>

Bills: HCR112

Committee: House Labor

Keywords: HCR112, House Concurrent Resolution, DHRD, Department of Human Resources Development, civil service, classification system, compensation system, salary study, pay scale, job classification, position classification, state workforce, vacancy rate, hard-to-fill positions, labor shortage, recruitment, retention, public employees, state agencies, labor organizations

Transcript Highlights:

• Currently, within 500 feet of schools, that's very problematic when you have places very close to schools
• And this was near an elementary school with 53% reduced-price lunches.
• The elementary school had to put up a six-foot fence and put in an alarm.
• Currently, within 500 feet of schools, that's very problematic when you have places very close to schools
• And this was near an elementary school with 53% reduced price lunches.

Bills: HB2720 , HB2073 , SB5816 , SB5919 , SB5831 , SB6244 , SB6044 , SB5109 , SB5877 , SB6258

Keywords: behavioral health, emergency services, health insurance, provider access, mental health funding, premium assistance, funding, healthcare, subsidies, juice grapes, agriculture, commerce, state regulation, market access, fire safety, insurance incentives, best practices, community protection, voluntary measures, mortgage modification