Transcript Highlights:

• Pro tem board members would be authorized to perform services as needed and determined by the director
• I run payroll, I manage inventory, I handle customer service, and yes, I send emails to my customers.
• We'd like to thank Rep. Farivar for her attention and dedication toward food access bills.
• individuals who don't have other access... important service for individuals who don't have other access
• Thank you very much to our professional staff for their outstanding service to the people of the state

Summary: The Consumer Protection and Business Committee held public hearings on three bills. House Bill 2229 would update the professional engineers registration act by removing the U.S. citizenship requirement for board members, increasing pro tem board positions, giving the board more discretion over experience and continuing education requirements, removing some registration exclusions, and making various technical updates. The bill sponsor and the board described it as a cleanup and modernization measure, and a board representative said one naming change in the draft was unintended and would be corrected. No public testimony was taken before the hearing was suspended and later closed. House Bill 2274 would revise the Washington Commercial Electronic Mail Act after a Washington Supreme Court decision led to a wave of lawsuits over email subject lines. The bill would require a sender to have a “reliable basis” to know an email is held by a Washington resident, narrow when a subject line is actionable, require recipients to show they reviewed and relied on the email to recover damages, and repeal the act’s per se Consumer Protection Act violation while keeping statutory damages. Retailers, small business owners, hospitality groups, and e-commerce representatives supported the bill, saying the current interpretation is producing costly, technical lawsuits over ordinary promotional language and creating settlement pressure even without consumer harm. Consumer advocates opposed the bill, arguing it would weaken protections against deceptive subject lines and that the current law already targets false or misleading claims. The committee took no final action on the bill. House Bill 2294 would prohibit future negative use restrictions on real property that block grocery stores or pharmacies, with exceptions for existing restrictions, relocations, and certain retail centers. The sponsor said the measure is intended to improve food and pharmacy access, especially after grocery closures such as the one in Lake City, and noted similar local ordinances already exist. Food industry and grocery association witnesses generally supported the bill as a way to reduce barriers to food access and help independent grocers, while also asking for clearer guardrails to avoid unintended effects on legitimate business arrangements. The sponsor said she was open to working on enforcement and other details. The committee then moved to executive session and passed House Bill 1269, which would adjust pawn broker loan terms, interest, document preparation fees, storage fees, and allow online payment for renewals. Members described it as a modest increase after 11 years without changes, and the bill was reported out of committee with a due pass recommendation by voice vote, with 15 members voting in the affirmative.

Transcript Highlights:

• to organization who believe in service to organization who believe in service to all mankind thank you
• Agency to hire an legislative Services Agency to hire an legislative Services Agency to hire an outside
• to will still have some sort of access to will still have some sort of access to those phones in the
• I that kid needs to have access to that phone not during have access to that phone not during have access
• to get to the outside can have access to get to the outside can have access to get to the outside world

Bills: HB 9 , HB 22 , HB 908 , HB 1392

Keywords: property tax, ad valorem tax, tangible personal property, income-producing property, business personal property, tax exemption, local government finance, appraisal district, chief appraiser, rendition statement, property tax relief, small business, commercial property, leased property, related business entity, unified business enterprise, tax situs, Texas Tax Code, local taxing unit, constitutional amendment

Transcript Highlights:

• and services to help households transition to longer-term housing.
• Providers will be forced to reduce services or close programs.
• :59.119><c> service</c> property management failed to service property management failed to service our
• to access.
• In difficult for household to access.

Committee: Senate Housing and Homelessness Prevention

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The service providers are required by contracts with ILA to administer the learning funds through both
• In the case of reimbursement, parents purchase items and then submit receipts to the service provider
• With direct ordering, the service provider makes those purchases and then delivers them to the families
• So ILA paid $20.6 million to the service providers, more than they paid to any other entity.
• Do ILA students have access to curriculum without student families, have access to that curriculum without

Committee: House Education

Keywords: 989, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Third, we need to expand for community-based organizations to provide direct services and act as trusted
• Third, we need to expand for community-based organizations to provide direct services to act as trusted
• access services and support.
• not only provide those wraparound services, but also provide really comprehensive services to individuals
• not only provide those wraparound services, but also provide really comprehensive services to individuals

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, we're losing a lot of agricultural land across our state, and so being able to open up access to
• This bill just simply seeks to reinstate that long-standing funding for those 911 and 988 services.
• you like to move the bill and the committee report to the Health and Human Services Committee report
• >> To move the Health and Human Services Committee report. >> Yes. To the committee report.
• The Health and Human Services Committee report passes to the bill.

Keywords: 981, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We need to make sure that there's access and opportunity to housing for everyone, which includes looking
• </c><00:09:44.720><c> to</c><00:09:44.920><c> them</c> Affordable and accessible to them Affordable and
• /c><00:46:13.720><c> for</c><00:46:13.880><c> future</c> to expand access uh to for future to expand
• , fair access to housing.
• However, there's more things that could be done to improve access to housing.

Committee: Senate Housing and Homelessness Prevention

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• needs access to charter public schools.
• experiences having a greater chance to access them.
• experiences having a greater chance to access them.
• and won't be able to create that access for many students to have a high-quality education.
• Because they will hurt many families and won't be able to create that access for many students to have

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Education

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Education held a lengthy hearing on a large slate of bills focused primarily on charter school policy and vocational technical education. Committee members opened with ground rules for testimony, including a two-minute limit, written testimony acceptance, and a live-streamed format. The committee then heard testimony on bills to expand collective bargaining rights in Horace Mann and Innovation Schools, reform charter school funding and reimbursement, allow enrollment preferences for high-need students in charter lotteries, and require BESE to consider district impacts when approving new or expanded charters. Several witnesses, including union leaders, parents, educators, and legislators, argued that charter growth has strained district budgets and that funding formulas should be reworked to better protect public schools; charter advocates and alumni countered that charter schools serve high-need students well and should not be penalized for their success. A major portion of the hearing focused on vocational technical education bills, including proposals to expand access and capacity, create a large grant program, and increase MSBA reimbursement rates for vocational school construction. Supporters described long waitlists, strong labor-market demand, and the higher cost of building and maintaining vocational schools, while municipal officials emphasized the tax burden on local communities. The committee also heard testimony on charter school reimbursement bills that would extend the state’s reimbursement schedule, with witnesses from districts such as Boston, Worcester, Fall River, and New Bedford describing large net losses to charter tuition and arguing for longer reimbursement periods and structural reform. The committee took no final votes during the hearing. In one instance, the chair said a bill would be held open until a missing senator could testify. Members asked several detailed questions about charter admissions lotteries, special education placements, funding formulas, and the practical effects of proposed charter caps and reimbursement changes. The hearing remained informational, with witnesses and committee members presenting sharply different views on whether the bills would improve equity and opportunity or harm existing public school systems.

Transcript Highlights:

• access to high quality healthcare, including behavioral health, and investments to improve quality of
• If you're trying to improve the services that you Mexicans receive, if you're trying to help the state
• So this is a difficult-to-access account.
• And these are really supposed to be investment accounts that are not exactly liquid and easy to access
• To Representative Dixon's question, We don't get access. Tax Department does not give us access.

Transcript Highlights:

• Madam Chair members, this bill through this strike, all accelerate access to vital services to Florida's
• First, the bill will accelerate access to vital services and address the persistent backlog by expanding
• out of foster care have access to the services they need.
• actually access those waiver services.
• We don't want to duplicate services.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• listening and spoken language services to DES. ...to transfer existing contracts for supplemental early
• childhood listening and spoken language services to DES.
• We're going on to the Committee of Health and Human Services...
• Members, Senate Bill 1630 establishes the home and community-based services program in ACCESS to provide
• The state, through ACCESS, has to apply for this program.

Summary: The meeting covered a series of fiscal year 2027 budget and budget-related bills, beginning with the general appropriations and tax package. Staff and the chair highlighted a budget built around about $1.4 billion in tax cuts, a one-time 2.5% agency reduction, major funding for state employee health insurance, corrections, flood and wildfire relief, and other supplemental appropriations. The chair repeatedly urged support for the package, emphasizing the size of the tax cut and noting that the committee’s joint vote had only three no votes out of 28 members. Members then reviewed several smaller budget implementation bills affecting racing and gambling, capital outlay, commerce and defense innovation, corrections, environment and water policy, higher education, human services, K-12 education, county finance, tax administration, state data governance, and state office rent rates. Key provisions included extending or modifying funds and fee structures, transferring surplus or unneeded monies, creating or revising oversight boards and pilot programs, increasing K-12 funding by 2% for inflation, adjusting university retention limits, expanding SNAP and housing-related requirements, and changing tax conformity and credits. Several members asked clarifying questions about specific items such as electric vehicle charging funds, mobile home relocation payments, university funding, and the new health insurance oversight board. The chair also explained the tax bill’s major changes, including conformity to federal tax law, a larger dependent tax credit, changes to deductions, repeal of certain tax credits, veteran property tax relief, limits on data center tax incentives, and provisions affecting manufacturing infrastructure and unemployment insurance administration. The committee discussed the Budget Stabilization Fund, debt repayment, and education rollover balances, with the chair arguing for using surpluses to pay down debt. The final item discussed was a behavioral health bill creating a home and community-based services program for adults determined to be seriously mentally ill, with a stated FY 2027 total fund appropriation of $7.8 million contingent on federal approval and matching funds. The meeting ended with a reminder that floor action would begin the next day at 10 a.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><01:18:03.239><c> to</c> it differs from Ambulance Service to it differs from Ambulance Service to
• Kennedy— a barrier to access to coverage uh for a barrier to access to coverage uh for our<02:02:59.920
• If the individual can't access those services, then their problem is going to compound.
• If the individual can't access those services, then their problem is going to compound.
• </c> the process and a direct barrier to the process and a direct barrier to access access access um<

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee took up HB 297 with a non-germane amendment proposed by the Insurance Department to create the Granite State Home Mitigation and Resiliency Program. Commissioner DJ Beton explained that the program is intended to help homeowners reduce rising insurance premiums and avoid surplus lines coverage by funding proactive home and property improvements such as roof fortification, exterior and foundation work, flood protection, and tree removal. He said the proposal was developed after leadership asked for more statutory detail and for the idea to be vetted through policy committees rather than handled only in the budget process. Beton said the program would be funded by the first $1 million collected annually from the insurance premium tax, with grants of up to $10,000 awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. He described the program as modeled on similar efforts in other states, with means testing tied to the Department of Energy’s weatherization/home heating assistance criteria. He also said the department would administer the program using one existing staff position, with coordination through Treasury, and that unspent funds would roll over for several years before reverting to the general fund. Members asked about the unusual use of a non-germane amendment and how the bill would be handled procedurally, since the underlying bill and the new insurance proposal were unrelated. The chair explained that the amendment was being used as a vehicle to move the department’s proposal through the committee process and that the committee could later accept one part, both parts, or neither. No vote was taken in the portion of the meeting shown; the discussion ended with questions about administration, staffing, and the relationship between the underlying bill and the amendment.

Transcript Highlights:

• HOWEVER IN JUST UNDER A WEEK WE HAD RESTORATION OF THOSE SERVICES TO ALL THE IMPACTED FOLKS WITH HURRICANE
• WHERE THERE ARE MULTIPLE COUNTIES THAT HAVE ACCESSIBILITY TO ONE SHELTER LOCATION WE TRIED TO PULL REGIONALLY
• WE ARE WORKING EVERY DAY TO RADICALLY REDUCE THE COST OF ACCESS TO SPACE AND THIS IS TO HARNESS SPACE
• AND YOUR COMMITMENT TO CONTINUING TO PROTECT COMMERCIAL ACCESS AT THE PORT.
• CLUB FOR THE FUTURE WE PUBLISHED RESOURCES, LESSONS PLANS, AND ACTIVITIES FOR EDUCATORS TO ACCESS AT

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE AND KNOW WHAT MONITORS PORT OF ENTRY TO IDENTIFY WHEN SPECIES ARE LEGALLY
• ONE OF THE MOST RECENT COMMISSION MEETINGS WE TALKED ABOUT PROVIDING MORE ACCESS FOR PEOPLE TO GO OUT
• TO SUCH A STATE LAND AND PARK AND ANYTHING THAT WE HAVE THAT ABILITY TO ACCESS AND WHEN WE LOOK AT IGUANAS
• WHAT IS THE FREQUENCY OF YOU ALLOWING ACCESS TO THE PARKS FOR THE PURPOSE OF ROUNDING UP PYTHONS?
• ENCOUNTER THESE TO SAFELY AND LEGALLY REMOVE THEM AND HAVE ACCESS.

Transcript Highlights:

• to access government<01:11:36.320><c> records.
• ><c> to</c><04:03:05.160><c> affordable</c> region loses access to affordable region loses access to
• </c> services and some of them we're going to services and some of them we're going to we're<04:09:25.199
• c> compliance</c> and Human Services to provide compliance and Human Services to provide compliance uh
• , if you want to prevent teenage pregnancy, if you want to combat... capacity to provide services to

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The House Human Services Finance and Policy Committee will come to order.
• Our goal is to address these needs, including finding pathways to address the gaps in services faced
• </c> ability to provide the very services ability to provide the very services that<00:41:41.880><c>
• </c> specific to Services sites at which specific to Services sites at which violations<01:09:15.359>
• <c> and</c> accessible resources to understand and accessible resources to understand and maintain<01

Committee: House Human Services Finance and Policy

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• The Senate Committee on Health and Human Services will come to order.
• This allows the Family Protective Services to reimburse certain employees for legal expenses associated
• Thank you for all your years of service and for this committee, and thank you to Dr.
• a work group to study the services available to individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities
• and for the legislature to have the information it needs to make decisions about how to improve access

Bills: HB50

Committee: Senate Health & Human Services

Keywords: constitutional amendment, ballot language, fiscal note, fiscal impact, cost estimate, savings estimate, Legislative Budget Board, LBB, secretary of state, Election Code, Government Code, voter information, ballot proposition, state budget, election administration, Texas, 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Next, the Service to Success initiative.
• </c> Next, the service to success initiative. Next, the service to success initiative.
• This would service to success program.
• for new service to career pathways.
• c> of</c><00:12:39.200><c> service</c> like to fill those kind of service like to fill those kind of

Bills: HF4598 , HF4884 , HF3732

Committee: House Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy

Keywords: workers' compensation, Minnesota workers' compensation, Workers' Compensation Advisory Council, reinsurance association, Workers' Compensation Reinsurance Association, WCRA, occupational disease, presumption, first responders, firefighter cancer, PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder, police officer, paramedic, emergency medical technician, correctional officer, security counselor, public safety dispatcher, temporary total disability, permanent partial disability

Transcript Highlights:

• They need to be covered. Patients need access to them.
• We still provide access to the brand and wait for that competition and the price to drop.
• But because we were able to access the manufacturer assistance on the front end, like the $10,000 to
• Right, just because you have access to a short time.
• Right, just because you have access to a short time.

Committee: Senate Insurance

Summary: The Senate Committee on Insurance met on May 6, 2026, and first reported HB 1241 favorably. That bill, by Chairman Furman, requires insurers to check with DCFS before paying certain insurance settlements to determine whether the recipient owes delinquent child support, and to withhold and remit arrears if found. DCFS explained that Louisiana already has intercepts and other collection tools, but no current mechanism for insurance settlements. Senators raised concerns about notice to obligors and about liability if insurers fail to withhold, but the bill was advanced without objection. The committee then heard HB 870, which would require health insurers and PBMs to cover lower-cost generic or biosimilar drugs when available and to use utilization management no more restrictively on those drugs. Supporters said the bill would improve access and lower patient costs by using wholesale acquisition cost as the comparison point. Opponents, including Louisiana Blue and the AFL-CIO, argued that WAC ignores rebates and net cost, could force plans to cover higher-cost biosimilars first, and could increase premiums and disrupt ERISA and fully insured plan design. The committee adopted a technical amendment set and then a second amendment set that added notice and reporting requirements tied to net cost calculations, and HB 870 was reported favorably as amended. Several other bills were moved with little or no opposition. HB 1176, concerning Medicare Advantage coverage for integrative cancer treatments such as cold cap therapy, cryotherapy, and acupuncture, was amended to change the effective date and then reported favorably. HB 1196, dealing with colorectal cancer screening follow-up colonoscopies, was also amended and reported favorably. HB 1162, a consumer protection bill requiring DOI to verify that a contractor named on a first-party property damage check is licensed in Louisiana, was amended and reported favorably. HB 826, which modernizes insurance referral rules to allow referrals by email or website address, was reported favorably. The committee also heard HB 1151 on insurer investment limits and solvency protections, and HB 1236 on pharmacy reimbursement and copay maximizer programs; both drew substantial testimony and concern, especially over retroactivity, PBM cost allocation, and whether copay maximizers shift costs to patients, but the transcript cuts off before final action on HB 1236.

Transcript Highlights:

• Um which is to access their section 35.
• Um, we need to accessing those supports.
• And not increase access to healthy food.
• to set up what is going to have Services to set up what is going to have to<05:39:13.200><c> be</c><
• > uh</c> getting access to this substance uh getting access to this substance uh great<05:45:52.160><

Committee: House Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs

Keywords: 1189, house, all