Transcript Highlights:

• </c> maybe doing a modular manufacturing plan maybe doing a modular manufacturing plan looking<00:54:
• </c> the what we had initially planned the what we had initially planned several<01:11:48.760><c> a</
• </c> really um working with modern planning really um working with modern planning uh<01:52:07.679><c
• </c> we we kind of do more Master planning we we kind of do more Master planning where<02:39:21.399><
• immediately</c><05:55:40.680><c> we</c> to develop a a plan uh immediately we to develop a a plan uh

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• , you don’t have a plan.
• But you know, like our chair says, if you have a plan, you don’t have a plan.
• design</c><00:53:05.079><c> and</c> planning and design planning design and planning and design planning
• What is their plan?
• What is their plan? What is their Central Maui plan? And they really didn't have one.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They have purchased health care plans anticipating that they would have coverage under those plans for
• and Medicaid plan when your private plan is displaying...
• This particular project started being planned about 14 years ago.
• This particular project started being planned about 14 years ago.
• This particular project started being planned about 14 years ago.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:05:21.120><c> and</c> with a plan and with a plan and that<00:05:22.760><c> that</c><00:05:22.880
• Have of the governor's plan to fix this.
• privy to the plan to fix this?
• I'm sorry, excuse me, about the plan.
• &gt;&gt; we not be privy to the plan to fix this?

Keywords: Call to Order and Roll Call- 00:00:01 SERVS Informational Update- 00:01:22 Child Removal and Reunification Update: Department for Community Based Services Financials- 00:03:00 Small Business Sales Tax Websites: Department of Revenue-00:28:05 Senior Citizen Meal Programs: Department for Aging and Independent Living-00:35:50 Adjournment-01:41:57, 958, all

Summary: The committee first approved the minutes from the September 11 meeting by motion and voice vote. It then received a brief update on the statewide emergency responder voice system, but no presenter was present. The chair said he expected a more substantive update in November and warned that if there is not real progress on acquiring needed private properties, the committee may consider further action, including possibly freezing funding. The main discussion centered on the Department for Community Based Services’ child removal and reunification work and its structured decision-making tools. Commissioner Lisa Dennis and General Counsel Wesley Duke explained that the intake, safety, and risk assessment tools are being used at very high rates and that the department is still implementing and evaluating the system. Dennis said the tools are meant to inform, not replace, professional judgment; when staff disagree with a recommendation, the worker and first-line supervisor consult and decide together. Members questioned whether the system favors keeping children in the home, whether the department has studied safety outcomes for in-home cases versus removals, and whether foster home shortages affect removal decisions. Dennis said child safety remains the top priority, that the practice has not changed, and that the department would provide additional data on outcomes later. Members also asked about permanency timelines and delays in termination of parental rights cases; Dennis said federal timelines are difficult to meet because of family progress, substance use recovery, and court delays, and she confirmed foster parent shortages were not the reason for those delays. The committee then heard a presentation from the Department of Revenue on the new My Taxes portal. Staff said the portal, launched in March, replaced DOR’s portion of the old Kentucky One Stop Business Portal and now allows businesses to file and pay multiple taxes, update account information, and receive official notices. They reported the system is available 24/7 except for scheduled maintenance every other Thursday evening, has maintained over 99% availability since launch, and now has a dedicated contact center with 50 agents plus a public help line and email. In response to questions, the department said early downtime was caused by unexpectedly high traffic, but server capacity was increased and in the last three months there had been only one day of unexpected downtime.

Transcript Highlights:

• . plans. plans.
• in a case plan approach.
• We have been plans across the state.
• :07:45.440><c> case</c><01:07:45.680><c> plan</c> piloting case plan the case plan piloting case plan
• </c> would look like in a case plan approach. would look like in a case plan approach.

Keywords: Meeting Start: 00:00:00 Roll Call: 00:00:08 Agency Updates: 00:01:27 Truancy: 00:01:43, 958, all

Summary: The Juvenile Justice Oversight Council met on October 8, 2025, approved the minutes from the August 29 meeting, and then focused its agenda on truancy and chronic absenteeism. Chad Butler, director of pupil personnel for Meade County and president of the Kentucky Department of Pupil Personnel directors, said chronic absenteeism remains a major problem statewide, citing recent Kentucky rates around 28% to 30% and noting that schools are trying to identify best practices to get students back in class. He said causes appear to include post-COVID social-emotional distress and confusion about when students should stay home, and he described a local effort to use a Healthy Kids Clinic model to keep some students in school when possible. In response to questions, he said chronic absenteeism has only been tracked seriously in the last two to three years and that House Bill 611 appears to have increased the number of youth entering the court system for habitual truancy; AOC said it would provide county-by-county data and outcomes later in the meeting. The council then heard from John Tyson of Alabama, a former Mobile district attorney, who described the Helping Families Initiative as a school-community partnership designed to address truancy and related behavior issues without arrest. Tyson said Alabama defines chronic absence as missing 10% of the school year and emphasized that the program is preventive rather than punitive, using warning letters, family engagement, assessments, individualized intervention plans, and referrals to community services. He said the program has operated since 2003, now includes 20 district attorneys and 44 school systems, and served more than 95,000 students, 73,000 families, and 162,000 parents in the most recent year. Tyson reported that in Mobile County the program was associated with a 3.15% attendance improvement in 2023-24 and a 4% reduction in the issue in 2024-25, along with a 50% reduction in truancy and 58% reduction in chronic absenteeism, and he said the program produced a large return on investment. Tyson also stressed that student absenteeism wastes tax dollars and that better attendance improves educational outcomes and community safety. He described the program’s use of a case-management database, real-time data tracking, and more than 1,000 referral agencies, and said the model is intended to be replicated statewide. He closed with examples of students whose attendance and family circumstances required coordinated support rather than punishment, including a teen mother and a disruptive child, to illustrate his view that schools, courts, and social services should work together to address underlying needs and keep children in school.

Transcript Highlights:

• What's the plan going forward?
• What's the plan going forward?
• What's the plan going forward?
• What's the plan going forward?
• That's part of the 87% or the 80% plan, and, you know, 91% plan in the future.

Committee: Senate Finance

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I should point out that the plan to finish this was done in 2017.
• outlay to watersheds to fulfill those plans.
• </c> deal is that when they finish the plan deal is that when they finish the plan they<00:32:27.480>
• </c><00:37:17.520><c> we</c> afraid we in our contingency planning we afraid we in our contingency planning
• </c> funded the mpca staff to help planning funded the mpca staff to help planning to<00:58:02.400><c

Committee: House Legacy Finance

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• It's one of the things we want to see in the plan because, in the end, you know, if you recognize you
• To create sustainability, you have to have a true plan to be able to do that.
• Was that during urban planning in the 1960s? Yeah, early 1970s, I believe.
• And so these are been planned. Absolutely.
• You don't want to... ...have qualified for and have SOA plans.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Businesses

Summary: The Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Business held its final hearing of the session on H. 5187 and S. 3022, the Enough Act, which would create a grant program to support place-based, cradle-to-career anti-poverty initiatives in high-need communities. Chairs Andy Vargas and Sen. Adam Gómez opened the hearing by thanking committee members and stakeholders, and several lawmakers, including Sen. Sal DiDomenico, Rep. Kate Lipper-Garabedian, and Rep. Antonio Cabral, described the bill as a bottom-up approach that would let local organizations, schools, and community partners direct resources where they are most needed. They emphasized that poverty, housing instability, food insecurity, and chronic absenteeism are interconnected and that the bill is intended to build local “backbone” infrastructure rather than fund isolated programs. A series of educators, school leaders, and nonprofit advocates testified in support, including leaders from Chelsea Public Schools, Bunker Hill Community College, Strategies for Children, AFT Massachusetts, United Way, the Boston Foundation, the New Commonwealth Fund, Give Black Alliance, Eastern Bank Foundation, and the Greater Boston Food Bank. They argued that schools alone cannot overcome the effects of concentrated poverty and pointed to research showing that children arrive at school already affected by poverty-related gaps. Several witnesses described existing local efforts in Chelsea, Boston, New Bedford, Springfield, Haverhill, and Lowell, and said the Enough Act would help coordinate services, align data and goals, and strengthen community voice. Some also noted that the bill could leverage philanthropic and private investment and cited Maryland and Harlem Children’s Zone as models. The hearing also featured testimony from Harlem Children’s Zone CEO Kwame Owusu-Kesse and founder Jeffrey Canada, who said the model has shown that sustained, coordinated supports can reduce the role of luck in children’s outcomes and should be scaled in Massachusetts. Committee members asked about sustainability, funding, and how the bill would interact with existing efforts such as community schools, the Student Opportunity Act, and McKinney-Vento homelessness supports. Witnesses responded that the bill would complement those programs by creating a broader, community-led framework and that long-term sustainability would require public, philanthropic, and private support. No vote was taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• SB 1088 aligns the three planning tools and makes important modernization updates.
• These are modern and reasonable reforms that help people plan for the end of their lives.
• And my biggest concern has to do with big costs that you need to plan for.
• And my biggest concern has to do with big costs that you need to plan for.
• So we're asking for better planning in that sense.

Committee: Senate Judiciary

Summary: The Senate Judiciary Committee heard several bills focused on health care planning, mental health court participation, homeowners association governance, groundwater enforcement, pet-policy disclosure in rentals, and post-disaster property speculation. SB 1088 would update California’s POLST and DNR laws by renaming POLST to Portable Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment, allowing electronic signatures, clarifying who may sign on a patient’s behalf, and making clear that these forms are voluntary; it drew support from the Coalition for Compassionate Care and no opposition. SB 1242 would let original family petitioners participate in CARE Court for care coordination and information-sharing, while preserving judicial discretion to exclude them if harmful; supporters said it would improve treatment coordination, while Disability Rights California opposed it as coercive and a removal of patient consent. The committee advanced SB 1242 on a 7-0 vote, with the bill placed on call. The committee also considered SB 1007, which would require more HOA budget transparency, disclosure of evidence for violations, and a lower cap on regular assessment increases without a homeowner vote. Supporters argued it would improve accountability and protect homeowners from steep fee hikes, while HOA industry groups warned it could undermine funding for insurance, maintenance, and other operating costs. Members raised concerns about the cap and the need for flexibility for large expenses; the bill passed 6-1 and was placed on call. SB 1364, as amended, would prevent a person convicted of sexual assault from obtaining custody or visitation of a child conceived from that assault, while preserving the possibility of voluntary co-parenting and aiming to qualify California for federal grant funding; it passed 8-0 and was placed on call. Later, SB 997 would give the North Fork Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency lien authority to enforce fees and its groundwater sustainability plan, addressing an enforcement gap for a GSA created by special legislation rather than a joint powers agreement. It drew support from agricultural and county groups and passed 9-0, placed on call. SB 1296 would require landlords to disclose pet policies up front on applications, websites, and ads, and allow refund of an application fee if disclosure was not provided before payment; supporters said it would reduce wasted application costs and pet relinquishment, while rental housing groups said the ad disclosure requirements were impractical. The bill passed 8-0 and was placed on call. The final bill, SB 1090, was introduced to prohibit large property owners from making unsolicited purchase offers for five years in wildfire-disaster areas, responding to investor activity after the Eaton and Palisades fires; the author and a SAGE witness described it as a protection against disaster capitalism and predatory low offers to displaced residents.

Transcript Highlights:

• SB 1088 aligns the three planning tools and makes important modernization updates.
• And my biggest concern has to do with big costs that you need to plan for.
• And my biggest concern has to do with big costs that you need to plan for.
• So we're asking for better planning in that sense.
• North Fork Kings GSA has developed a groundwater sustainability plan for 2028.

Committee: Senate Judiciary

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• report on the board's efforts to implement the recommendations in our six-month follow-up that we plan
• Is that what the strike team is intended to do, or can you talk more about how you plan to address the
• Currently, the board has implemented 25 recommendations and has plans for the remainder.
• Our investigations manager has a plan, which I provided to you, regarding biannual monitoring of the
• Our investigations manager has a plan, which I provided to you, regarding biannual monitoring of the

Committee: House House Health & Human Services Committee of Reference

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• There is a plan in place that parents need to comply with.
• Then there are permanency planning hearings where, again, the court is reviewing the parents' progress
• We reject the term discharge planning, mostly because that involves a hard address.
• The return to community plan does include where can you live and what will it take.
• And so it really is they're driving their own plan.

Summary: The Senate Human Services Committee held a work session on child welfare dependency, focusing on implementation of HB 1227 (Keeping Families Together) and SB 6109 (the fentanyl response bill), along with related data and system updates. DCYF first reviewed the dependency process, explaining intake, shelter care, fact-finding, disposition, and review hearings, and emphasized that removal standards are separate from service provision and that children may be in-home or out-of-home at different stages. DCYF said 1227 raised the removal threshold to imminent physical harm and strengthened kin placement, with nearly 60% of children now placed with relatives or suitable others. The department also said 6109 directs courts to give great weight to fentanyl’s lethality and added legal liaisons to support staff in court preparation. DCYF presented data showing that entries into out-of-home care declined after 1227 but rose again after 6109, returning close to pre-1227 levels. The agency also reported a sharp increase in reviewable critical incidents in 2022-2025, especially near-fatalities, which it linked to the opioid and fentanyl crisis, parental stress, and system complexity. DCYF said it has responded with statewide Safe Child Councils, staff consultations, hotspot monitoring, and additional training, and noted that some contracted services authorized under 6109 were not implemented because of fiscal constraints. Senators asked about where children are in the process, who participates in court, the timing of data releases, age breakdowns, and geographic hotspots. Advocates and lived-experience witnesses from LCYC and a family intervention clinic argued that 1227 has not prevented courts from removing children when necessary and said the law appropriately requires the state to show a causal link between home conditions and risk. They said 6109 appropriately highlights fentanyl’s danger, but stressed that the larger issue is lack of prevention and treatment resources, inconsistent county-by-county practice, and insufficient supports such as inpatient beds, family treatment, housing, transportation, and third-party safety plan participants. A parent ally described how early support, peer guidance, and kin placement helped her achieve recovery and stability after losing parental rights in an earlier case. The committee also heard an update on SB 6068 from the Administrative Office of the Courts and K Implementation and Evaluation. The report identified 15 dimensions of relational permanency and child well-being, found that some data already exist while other measures need development, and recommended a phased data collection plan, a restored data-sharing agreement between AOC and DCYF, and a standing cross-agency work group. AOC said its dependency data system lapsed when the prior agreement expired in June 2025 and needs to be rebuilt. The meeting also included a brief update on bridge housing for youth exiting inpatient treatment, with presenters saying two programs are now open, one in King County and one in Spokane, and a short introduction to juvenile rehabilitation capacity updates before the transcript ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• So a lot of it is planning, grid planning.
• So a lot of it is planning, grid planning.
• So a lot of it is planning, grid planning.
• So a lot of it is planning, grid planning.
• So a lot of it is planning, grid planning.

Keywords: 927, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> development program and financing plans development program and financing plans for<00:40:04.640
• Get some feedback and decide what's appropriate. the planning board in my case in city of the planning
• </c> planning and zoning law. planning and zoning law.
• </c><02:29:16.960><c> We</c> considered by our planning board. We considered by our planning board.
• How are they planning for reserves. How are they planning for maintenance?

Committee: House Municipal and County Government

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• > is</c> $444,000 for a family plan today is $444,000 for a family plan today is we're<04:52:08.638><
• So the question is: are planning board warrant articles put up by the planning board amendable?
• c> board</c> put up by the planning board put up by the planning board amendable<05:47:12.718><c> planning
• board also work with and planning board also work with regional<06:12:07.120><c> planning</c><06:12:
• board in each Town um the planning board in each Town um the planning<06:17:45.200><c> board</c><06:

Committee: House Municipal and County Government

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• sadly passed away on May 10th at the age of 78, dedicated over 20 years to the town of Amherst in planning
• She also served on the Amherst Planning Board and the Amherst Affordable Housing Trust, and as a commissioner
• Connie dedicated over 20 years to the town of Amherst in the area's planning, housing, and civic engagement
• Amherst. members of the led her to become a planner for the town of Amherst, members of the Amherst Planning
• Citizens Housing and Planning Association Board for over 20 years.

Summary: The House adopted several congratulatory resolutions, including one honoring Douglas Fire Chief John J. Furno on his retirement and another recognizing the Appalachian Mountain Club’s 150th anniversary and its conservation and outdoor recreation work. The chamber also suspended Joint Rule 12 on three petitions, including proposals related to credible service for Thomas Brooks, teacher retirement membership for Springfield Empowerment Zone employees, and designation of a bridge by the Department of Transportation. The House then advanced a set of bills to third reading, including legislation allowing Berkeley to increase its Board of Selectmen, banning the retail sale of dogs, cats, rabbits, and guinea pigs in pet shops, and transferring interests in land in West Brookfield. It also passed to be engrossed bills authorizing South Hadley to grant additional all-alcohol licenses and Westford to grant an additional off-premises all-alcohol license. Later, the House considered Senate amendments to House Bill 5478, a bill creating a temporary summer 2026 pilot for municipalities to extend liquor license hours and allow public consumption in designated districts. The House adopted a further amendment offered by Representative Walsh, concurred as amended, adopted the emergency preamble, and passed the bill to be enacted. The session also included a moment of silence for Constance “Connie” Ellen Kruger of Amherst, followed by adjournment to meet again Wednesday at 11 a.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• IT BEGINS WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AS WELL AS LOCAL TECHNOLOGY PLANNING TEAMS, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS,
• OUR VISION FOR THE SUCCESS OF OUR PROGRAM IS CAPTURED IN THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
• THIS IS A PLAN IN COLLABORATION WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA'S PUBLIC UTILITY RESEARCH CENTER WE WERE
• THIS SLIDE IS A HOLISTIC VIEWPOINT OF THE $1.16 BILLION IN HOW WE PLAN TO DISTRIBUTE IT.
• HAS MENTIONED HERE'S A FIBER TECHNICIAN TRAINING PLAN THAT HAS BEEN DRAFTED BY MIAMI DADE COLLEGE AND

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They needed to be thinking about their hosting planning, their business plan, getting that business up
• The planning grants, all states received in order to create a digital equity plan across the state.
• We had that plan approved. the digital Equity act planning grants the digital Equity act planning grants
• a plan that was Minnesota's plan, not the office's plan, not NTIA's plan, but Minnesota-driven.
• <01:02:56.160><c> these</c><01:02:56.400><c> programs</c> planning for the plans in these programs planning

Committee: House Agriculture Finance and Policy

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Okay, so item K, we change protection plan to immediate safety plan.
• Obviously, words have meaning, so we're changing protection to immediate safety plan.
• Immediate safety plan.
• Protection plan was an old term that DCFS used. Now we use immediate safety planning.
• , we've changed and updated the terminology to safety plan.

Summary: The Joint Committee on Aging, Children, and Youth first approved the February 11 minutes and then reviewed a DCFS policy manual update from Director Tiffany Wright. The rule changes were described as largely terminology and compliance updates to align with new laws, an executive order, and current practice, including moving internal procedures out of the public manual and into DCFS’s internal procedure manual. Members asked whether the changes altered practice or just wording, and Wright said they were mainly procedural and vernacular updates, such as changing terms like “protection plan” to “immediate safety plan” and “safety factor” to “safety threat.” The committee then reviewed and accepted the rule without objection. Wright also presented DCFS performance data for the third quarter of FY 2026, including hotline reports, investigations, foster care, in-home services, permanency, and adoption measures. She noted staffing shortages in some counties, lower timeliness in completing maltreatment reports, and efforts to support those areas with central office staff and daily calls. Members asked about neglect trends, sexual abuse/exploitation categories, behavioral issues, and workforce recruitment and retention. Wright said DCFS is expanding hiring support, outreach, retention efforts, trauma support through UAMS, and a new staff training model beginning July 1. She also presented the biannual overturned investigations report, which tracks hotline calls, true findings, appeals, and reversals by county, and answered questions about comparing it with prior years. Major Jeff Drew of the Crimes Against Children Division presented the 2025 annual report, saying the hotline received 67,987 calls and 37,986 were accepted for investigation, with 6,539 CACD investigations assigned and a 28% substantiation rate. He described hotline operator training, including a four-week program with policy review, scenarios, recorded calls, live call monitoring, and evidence-chain and decision-making instruction. He said the starting salary for hotline operators is $43,888 plus benefits and would check on comparisons with other states. Elizabeth Pooley of the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Arkansas reported that the state’s 29 CACs and 64 multidisciplinary teams served 13,568 children and families in 2025, up about 3,000 from the prior year, and hosted 259 trainings. Members asked about funding, and she said state funding is the same for each center at roughly $70,000 to $75,000, supplemented by federal and community support, with work underway on Arkansas-specific best practices. The meeting ended after a brief unrelated question about Meals on Wheels and a Project Zero adoption event announcement.

Transcript Highlights:

• Okay, so item K, we change 'protection plan' to 'immediate safety plan.'
• Obviously, words have meaning, so we're changing protection to immediate safety plan.
• So does it mean that we're only looking at immediate— ...immediate safety plan.
• 'Protection plan' was an old term that DCFS used. Now we use 'immediate safety planning.'
• , we've changed and updated the terminology to 'safety plan.'

Summary: The Joint Committee on Aging, Children and Youth approved the February 11 minutes and then reviewed a DCFS policy manual update from Director Tiffany Wright. Wright said the changes move internal procedures out of administrative rule into DCFS’s internal procedure manual under an executive order, while also updating terminology, conforming to enacted laws, revising foster family continuing education hours, and removing obsolete requirements. Members asked whether the changes would alter practice; Wright said they were mainly terminology and process-location changes, intended to make the department more efficient and flexible. The committee then accepted the rule review without objection. Wright next presented DCFS quarterly performance data for the third quarter of FY 2026. She reported 8,610 hotline reports accepted, 6,919 assigned to DCFS, 22% of investigations found true, neglect as the most common substantiated allegation, and continued staffing shortages in some counties affecting timeliness. She also reported 3,420 foster care cases, 1,788 in-home cases involving 4,568 children, 72% monthly home-visit compliance, 36% permanency within 12 months, 4.5% re-entry into foster care, and 156 children available for adoption. Members asked about neglect trends, sexual abuse/exploitation data, behavior-related removals, staffing recruitment and retention, training improvements, and whether ACE-style testing should be considered for children; Wright said DCFS is expanding recruitment, retention, and training efforts and was open to further discussion on education-related assessments. The committee also received DCFS’s biannual overturned investigations report, covering July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025, which tracks hotline calls, accepted reports, true findings, appeals, and overturned findings by county. A member asked for comparison to the prior year’s report. Major Jeff Drew then presented the Crimes Against Children Division annual report, saying the hotline received 67,987 calls in 2025, 37,986 were accepted for investigation, and CACD handled 6,539 cases with a 28% substantiation rate. Members asked about hotline operator training, qualifications, salary, and whether Arkansas compares with other states; Drew said operators receive a four-week training that includes law, policy, scenarios, recorded calls, live-call monitoring, and evidence-chain/decision-making instruction. Finally, Elizabeth Pooley of the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Arkansas reported that the statewide network of 29 CACs and 64 multidisciplinary teams served 13,568 children and families in 2025, up about 3,000 from the prior year, and hosted 259 trainings for professionals. She said funding comes from a mix of state, federal, and community sources, with state funding set at roughly $70,000 to $75,000 per center and not based on caseload. Members asked about funding stability and standards of care; Pooley said CACs follow national standards and Arkansas is developing state best practices. The meeting adjourned after no further business.