Transcript Highlights:

• It creates friction for patients and providers alike and disproportionately affects those on public programs
• It creates friction for patients and providers alike and disproportionately affects those on public programs
• It creates friction for patients and providers alike and disproportionately affects those on public programs
• It creates friction for patients and providers alike and disproportionately affects those on public programs
• It creates friction for patients and providers alike and disproportionately affects those on public programs

Bills: HF362 , HF2590 , HF2760 , HF3444

Committee: House Health Finance and Policy

Keywords: massage therapy, Asian bodywork therapy, massage therapist, Asian bodywork therapist, licensure, professional licensing, health occupations, Department of Health, commissioner of health, advisory council, protected title, unlicensed practice, scope of practice, consumer protection, background check, professional liability insurance, continuing education, credentialing examination, state preemption, municipal regulation

Transcript Highlights:

• And it will be on our public website.
• Our work is just one example of how investment in public art is an exceptionally effective economic driver
• Beyond the sector's outsized economic impact, murals and other public art help people love where they
• Beyond the sector's outsized economic impact murals and other public art help people love where they
• We provide local government coverage, school programming, public access to media, and community storytelling

Bills: H5386

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies

Keywords: economic development, innovation, investment, housing, small business, global trade, infrastructure

Transcript Highlights:

• Perpich is not a metro arts school. It is a statewide public access model.
• . programs. programs.
• That funding supports the arts high school, the professional development resource program that serves
• Um, we had public hearings, public meetings. I was at them.
• </c> we had public hearings, public meetings. we had public hearings, public meetings.

Committee: House Capital Investment

Transcript Highlights:

• Yet, under this bill, the invaluable liberal arts programs that facilitate this learning and research
• Ours are all public.
• No one wants me setting curriculum for a welding program or an engineering program.
• , especially for those in liberal arts.
• at certain public institutions.

Bills: SB 37

Committee: House Higher Education

Keywords: fetal development, education, public health curriculum, middle school, age-appropriate instruction

Transcript Highlights:

• programming.
• In addition to charter schools, we have the Public Project Revolving Fund, which is the primary program
• We are known primarily for that program, and it is a powerful financing engine for New Mexico public
• The program enjoys a AAA rating from S&P, making it a robust program.
• One other school, the Public Academy for Performing Arts (PAPA), is a district charter with a great reputation

Committee: House New Mexico Finance Authority Oversight Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• reductions to the Wellness, Arts, and Military Grant Program.
• reductions to the Wellness Arts and Military Grant Program.
• I'm hoping that half that amount will fly, and I'm applying it directly to the military arts program
• So if you want to support veterans and the arts program, here's a chance to do it all in one swoop.
• I'm hoping that half that amount will fly, and I'm applying it directly to the military arts program

Summary: The Senate Ways and Means Committee met in executive session on Senate Bill 5998, the proposed operating budget, and received a staff briefing on 39 proposed amendments. The amendments covered a wide range of issues, including technical corrections; truancy intervention funding; public defense and Blake-related vacatur work; family reading, shellfish program review, cultural resource protection, agritourism, transmission planning, paid leave, developmental disabilities services, nursing home rates, TANF workforce services, food bank language, oral health access, behavioral health partnership access, sexual assault nurse examiner training, Department of Corrections security measures, child welfare staffing, pediatric interim care centers, Working Connections Child Care, range rider funding, Chinese American history month materials, Running Start, retiree health subsidies, school bus contractor costs, local effort assistance, transition to kindergarten, charter school enrichment, arts grants, and a tribal liaison position. Several amendments were withdrawn before action, including the truancy increase, Blake funding, one DD-related amendment, and others. The committee adopted a number of amendments, including the technical corrections packet, reductions or savings-related corrections, the family reading program, shellfish review funding, the transmission-system implementation funding, the oral health foundation, the partnership access line, health technology assessment funding, the governor errata correction, the sexual assault nurse examiner training contract, the DOC canine scheduling language, the child welfare staffing correction, the people transportation language, the TTK-related amendment, and the tribal liaison funding. It rejected several others, including agritourism, paid leave study language, DD waiver expansion, nursing home add-ons, the PIC program, range rider funding, Chinese American history month materials, Running Start restoration, the LEA restoration amendment, and the arts grant restoration. Some amendments were withdrawn after discussion, including the DD waiver and LEA-related proposals. During debate, supporters of various amendments emphasized service needs for vulnerable populations, including people with developmental disabilities, survivors of sexual assault, Medicaid dental access, behavioral health callers, and students in Running Start and TTK. Opponents repeatedly cited budget constraints, the need for a sustainable operating budget, and the view that some issues were better addressed through collective bargaining or future negotiations. The committee then rolled the adopted amendments into a new substitute Senate Bill 5998 and voted to send it to the Rules Committee with a do-pass recommendation, subject to signatures. Several members stated they would vote no on the budget overall, while others supported it as a difficult but necessary compromise. The meeting adjourned after the final vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• Not only do our public state universities and colleges offer degree or certificate programs, but so do
• arts.
• That program is number one in the world, not just in the state—Ringling's motion arts program in Sarasota
• I think the way we look at it is a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science program, even if it's in theology
• Are there any programs that aren't Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts that aren't covered as well

Summary: The Higher Education Budget Subcommittee heard and advanced House Bill 1145, which clarifies that public charter schools may participate in the CAP Grant Fund. The bill’s amendment expanded a separate “money-back guarantee” concept for state colleges, requiring participating institutions to offer six eligible programs and refund tuition if graduates do not find qualifying employment within six months under standardized job-search requirements. Members asked about refund rates, student notification, fiscal impact, and whether the proposal accounted for disability or out-of-state job searches. Public testimony on the amendment and bill was in support from Nathan Hoffman of the Foundation for Florida’s Future, and the committee adopted the amendment and reported the bill favorably as a committee substitute by a 16-1 vote, with Representative Aristide voting no over the charter school issue. The committee then received presentations on the William L. Boyd IV Effective Access to Student Education (EASE) Grant and the private nonprofit college sector. Department of Education staff explained that EASE, created in 1979, provides tuition assistance to eligible full-time undergraduates at participating private institutions, with a 2024-25 maximum award of $3,500 and an additional EASE Plus incentive of up to $850 for students in high-demand fields. The department reviewed the program’s funding history, disbursement process, and accountability metrics, including access, affordability, graduation, retention, and postgraduate employment/continuing education. Members asked about award proration, eligibility for other aid, religious-program restrictions, and why some institutions had low or unavailable graduation-rate data. ICUF President Robert Boyd argued that EASE is a strong return on investment and described ICUF institutions as not-for-profit, four-year schools serving many Pell-eligible, adult, military, and minority students. He said the sector produces a significant share of Florida’s bachelor’s, graduate, nursing, and education degrees, and highlighted ICUF’s dashboard with additional transparency metrics, program earnings data, and net price calculators. Boyd and members discussed graduation and completion rates, NCLEX passage rates, affordability, institutional flexibility, and whether schools with lower graduation rates should be compared differently because of their student populations. The presentations ended with no further business, and the meeting adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• , and has a growing portfolio of programs.
• There is a music venue incubator rebate program that rebates sales tax proceeds to arts and entertainment
• I'm Director of Public Policy for Lyft.
• Arts and culture is 5% of our nighttime economy.
• Arts and culture is 5% of our nighttime economy.

Transcript Highlights:

• The public education reform fund, just because out of school time programs can be so many...
• STEAM adds the arts.
• Is this implying that that extra 3 million is to add arts to all of those kinds of programs as opposed
• That program was called TECLA: Teaching Teacher Education Collaborative in Language Diversity and Arts
• Public schools, public service, and public school districts should be held accountable.

Transcript Highlights:

• Rachel Murphy with Public Advocates.
• programs.
• programs.
• Seeing none, any public comment in opposition? Seeing none, any public comment in opposition?
• within the traditional public school system.

Committee: House Education

Transcript Highlights:

• Senate File 673 deals with some money from the Arts and Cultural Heritage program, and this is in regards
• and cultural heritage uh uh the Arts and cultural heritage uh program<00:01:00.079><c> program</c><00
• program and this is in regards program program and this is in regards to<00:01:02.840><c> a</c><00:01
• <c> concert</c> Student Art displays summer art concert Student Art displays summer art concert Ser<00
• </c> as a work of art itself this work of art as a work of art itself this work of art is<00:29:53.720

Committee: Senate Environment, Climate, and Legacy

Transcript Highlights:

• As far as its public education students or public school students, they were expected to achieve competency
• The pathways and programs of these career pathways and CTE programs of study were also recently revised
• fine arts, have fewer courses required to graduate.
• We'll go briefly through public reporting. ESSA does have requirements for public reporting.
• We'll go briefly through public reporting. ESA does have requirements for public reporting.

Transcript Highlights:

• Members of the public can provide testimony on a bill or provide public comment at the end of each hearing
• And so what we wanted to do was to ensure that those arts and music programs... ...that those arts and
• They have an amazing program.
• Without new funds to open programs, the military services fund new programs by closing programs with
• Our JROTC program... Our JROTC programs are really important in our schools. Thank you.

Committee: Assembly Education

Transcript Highlights:

• , and as a growing portfolio of programs.
• There is a music venue incubator rebate program that rebates sales tax proceeds to arts and entertainment
• of Government Affairs and Public Policy.
• I'm Director of Public Policy for Lyft.
• Arts and culture is 5% of our nighttime economy.

Summary: The Select Committee on Downtown Recovery held a hearing titled “Revitalizing California’s Downtowns Through the Nightlife Economy,” focused on how nightlife, arts, entertainment, and late-night transportation can support downtown recovery after the pandemic. Chair Matt Haney framed nightlife as a major economic and cultural sector and said the committee hopes to produce policy, budget, and legislative proposals, building on last year’s downtown recovery bills. The hearing included three panels: nightlife policy experts and a venue owner; representatives from entertainment, tourism, and rideshare; and remote witnesses from London, Philadelphia, and New York discussing how other cities manage 24-hour economies. Witnesses on the first panel emphasized that nightlife is an ecosystem that includes workers, venues, transportation, and public safety. Michael Fishman described the growth of night managers and argued that zoning, licensing, and land costs can either support or choke off creative venues; he also said extending hours can reduce congestion and unsafe spillover if done in a regulated way. Ben Van Houten highlighted San Francisco’s entertainment zones, hospitality zone liquor licenses, Type 90 music venue licenses, and other local reforms, while urging more state coordination and possible tax and licensing changes. Darcy Drolinger of Oasis said independent venues are operating on thin margins, have faced repeated near-closures, and need tools such as extended alcohol service hours to remain viable and preserve community and LGBTQ+ cultural spaces. The second panel focused on tourism, major events, and transportation. Another Planet Entertainment’s Mary Condi said festivals and venues like Outside Lands, the Castro Theatre, and the Fox and Greek theaters draw large numbers of visitors, support hotels and restaurants, and require close coordination with city agencies; she also raised concerns about unexpected possessory interest tax bills and the burden of secondary ticketing and cannabis taxes. Amelia Zamani of Cal Travel said travel and tourism remain a major economic engine and argued that nightlife is central to attracting international visitors, conventions, and major events, especially if California wants to compete with cities that allow later alcohol service. Lyft’s Nicholas Johnson said late-night rides serve workers as well as patrons, reduce DUI risk, and are essential for safe access to downtowns and event venues. In the final panel, officials from London and Philadelphia described their nighttime governance models. London witnesses said the city created a 24-hour city strategy, a night czar, and a nightlife commission, and found that nightlife supports economic activity, workforce retention, and safer, more diverse districts when paired with flexible licensing and better transit. Philadelphia’s Rahim Manning said his city treats the nighttime economy as a major industry, with a $26.2 billion annual impact, and stressed that it includes manufacturing, logistics, health care, transportation, food service, arts, and sports—not just bars and clubs. No votes were taken; the hearing was informational, with committee members asking questions about extended hours, transportation, family-friendly programming, cannabis activation, ticketing, and how California can better support a safe and competitive nighttime economy.

Transcript Highlights:

• I mean, just let's face it, there's no arts council. This supports the traditional arts programs.
• </c> This supports the traditional arts This supports the traditional arts programs.<00:46:03.520><c>
• </c> programs.
• It supports the thriving arts programs.
• </c> on the arts, they can work on the arts. on the arts, they can work on the arts.

Committee: Senate Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• The state arts board receives arts.
• While our federal public lands are being made inaccessible, our state public lands and waters belong
• </c> turns tries to turn our federal public turns tries to turn our federal public lands<00:08:47.920
• The arts and culture cultural The arts and culture cultural institutions<00:13:34.320><c> here</c><00
• Uh one of the culture in the arts.

Transcript Highlights:

• program.
• programs.
• in Arts, is our nursing program.
• programs.
• in Arts is our nursing program.

Committee: Senate Appropriations Committee on Higher Education

Summary: The Higher Education Appropriations Committee met for its first session of the year, took roll, welcomed new member Senator Bracey Davis, and had members briefly describe their backgrounds and interest in higher education. Chair Harrell framed the committee’s focus on maintaining Florida’s top national ranking in higher education and workforce development, with an emphasis on funding decisions tied to student success, workforce needs, and the state college system. Senior Chancellor Kevin O’Farrell presented the Department of Education’s workforce and Florida College System budget requests and data. He described requested increases for adult education, Florida College System program funding, workforce development, and several grant programs, including workforce capitalization, apprenticeship/teacher apprenticeship, Open Door, and CAPE industry certifications. He highlighted record enrollment and completion growth across Florida’s colleges and technical centers, major gains in career dual enrollment, and expansion in programs such as nursing, AI, cybersecurity, welding, HVAC, and manufacturing. Members asked about labor-market demand, the impact of artificial intelligence on future job training, teacher apprenticeship details, mission creep and duplication in CTE programs, student placement and wages after graduation, and articulation between technical college clock hours and college credit. South Florida State College President Fred Hawkins testified about challenges facing a rural college, including low local college-going rates, long travel distances, limited faculty recruitment due to salaries, and the need for more operational funding to expand capacity. He cited strong job placement and licensure outcomes in nursing, dental hygiene, EMT/paramedic, and radiography, and said the college is exploring AI tools to improve student services and reduce staffing pressure. Pinellas Technical College Executive Director Mark Hunter described strong dual enrollment, high job placement, employer partnerships, and a reported 400% return on investment, while also warning that many programs have waiting lists because of staffing and equipment constraints. He explained how technical college coursework is aligned with state college credit through content-based articulation agreements. The committee then opened the floor for public comment, but no additional business was taken up, and the meeting adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• We have a robust program with the Boston Public Schools, including our dual enrollment program, which
• and open to the public.
• and open to the public.
• But we support that training program.
• It's an eight-week training program, an intensive hands-on program on how you will become a biomanufacturing

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies

Summary: The committee held an informational hearing on the economic impact of Massachusetts higher education institutions, with opening remarks noting the significance of September 11 and the role colleges and universities play in the state’s economy, workforce, and research ecosystem. UMass leaders testified first, describing UMass as a major employer and economic driver that educates large numbers of Massachusetts residents, supports thousands of jobs, and generates billions in annual economic activity. They emphasized the importance of research funding, warned that federal grant cancellations, suspensions, and slowdowns were harming research operations and talent retention, and voiced strong support for Governor Healey’s proposed DRIVE initiative as bridge funding to protect research capacity and jobs. Committee members focused heavily on workforce preparation in emerging fields such as AI, cyber, quantum computing, and engineering. UMass leaders said AI is being embedded across curricula and research, but also warned that financial constraints forced reductions in PhD admissions, especially in computer science and engineering, which could weaken the future workforce pipeline. They also described the practical effects of grant uncertainty, including reduced graduate admissions and concerns about losing researchers to institutions abroad. Members asked for more detailed data on grant timing, funding gaps, and where students and researchers were going. A second panel from private colleges and universities, including AICUM, Suffolk, Smith, and Clark, highlighted the broad economic and civic contributions of private higher education. Testimony cited large annual economic impacts, job creation, tax revenue, community service, legal clinics, dual enrollment, entrepreneurship support, sustainability investments, and access programs. Speakers also discussed enrollment pressures, COVID-related social and mental health challenges, student visa and federal policy concerns, and the need to preserve liberal arts alongside career-focused training. The committee then heard from MIT, where testimony focused on research commercialization, biotech spinouts, and the role of federal, philanthropic, and industry funding in sustaining innovation; members pressed for more data on funding sources and asked what state policy could do to keep talent and businesses in Massachusetts. The hearing continued with additional public higher education testimony, including Bridgewater State, Bristol Community College, and Northeastern, which emphasized workforce-aligned programs, social mobility, apprenticeships, co-op education, and the need for better coordination between higher education, employers, and state workforce systems.

Transcript Highlights:

• We put it out there for public comment.
• The importance of arts is so important.
• more culture and arts in our communities.
• Sarah Miller is a product of Jenks Public Schools.
• I'm a proud of public, like a public school teacher and product of that, and look forward to serving

Committee: Senate Education

Summary: The Extended Education Committee met to consider a long slate of gubernatorial nominations and reappointments to education-related boards and commissions. The committee heard brief introductions from sponsoring senators and remarks from nominees for the Oklahoma Lottery Commission, State Board of Career and Technology Education, Regional University System of Oklahoma, State Board of Education, Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, Board of Regents for the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical Colleges, the Secretary of Education, several university and college boards, the Oklahoma Student Loan Authority, the State Textbook Committee, the Oklahoma Arts Council, and the Langston University board, among others. Many nominees emphasized their backgrounds in public education, higher education, business, agriculture, health care, or community service, and several acknowledged family members or institutional leaders present in the room. A few nominations drew questions or discussion. John Wesley Nofire was asked about working with the State Board of Education and about the social studies standards process, and he explained the board followed statutory public-comment procedures and made changes before final adoption. Secretary of Education Dan Hamlin received supportive comments from multiple senators, who praised his data-driven approach and urged that he be retained by future administrations. Michael McElroy, Brian Beller, Christopher Franklin, Dr. Michael Peck, and others also answered questions about the role of their boards and their experience with the institutions they would oversee. The committee voted on each nomination, with most receiving unanimous approval and a few passing with one or two dissenting votes. Notable vote totals included David McKenzie and Michael McElroy passing 9-2 and 10-1 respectively, while the rest of the nominees generally passed 8-0, 9-0, 10-0, or 11-0. At the end of the meeting, the chair thanked members for their work on the large number of executive nominations and announced that the committee was adjourned for the year.

Transcript Highlights:

• HCR 42 simply calls on Congress to support more programs like the Generous Cost Reduction program.
• Protonix through the Trump program is $200.
• just simply getting a program... ...program has shown that it actually has higher costs than just simply
• getting a program, getting your prescriptions using a program like GoodRx or getting a generic through
• So these are pretty significant training programs.

Committee: House Health and Mental Health