Transcript Highlights:

• Well, I think today that’s a burden on local taxpayers to pay for it.
• I think these decisions for Decades now have been left up to local judges, locally elected judges to
• However, if there is a local health department, they need to obtain a permit from the local department
• retail pharmacies.
• Now, independent pharmacies lose money on generics because...

Bills: HB3772 , HB1656 , HB4504 , HB1896 , HB4420 , HB4421 , HB4076 , HB3708 , HB2806 , HB3540 , HB1586 , HB5459 , HB4553 , HB4535 , HB3811 , HB3749 , HB4255 , HB4051 , HB5098 , HB3554 , HB4539 , HB5274

Committee: House Public Health

Keywords: e-cigarettes, health and safety, regulations, directory, penalties, regulation, certification, compliance, manufacturers, FDA, nicotine, mental health, emergency detention, paramedic authority, mental illness, healthcare facility, public health, covenants not to compete, health care practitioners, physicians

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm a member of Dover City Council and local government, and I support this.
• This protects our citizens and local government. Please support this legislation.
• Is it going to be the state, local government?
• My name is Penny Rogers, and I’m the executive director of a local nonprofit, Face the Facts.
• My name is Penny Rogers, and I'm the executive director of a local nonprofit, face the facts.

Bills: SB274 , SB301 , SB249

Committee: House Health & Human Development

Summary: The committee heard and advanced several measures related to health care, public health, and patient protections. House Concurrent Resolution 148, urging a statewide educational strategy on menopause, was presented as a workplace awareness measure and received supportive comments from members before being released. Senate Bill 274, updating Delaware’s MOST program to POLST and clarifying capacity determinations and documentation for end-of-life orders, also drew supportive testimony from medical and nursing groups and was released. House Bill 458, limiting local backflow preventer requirements for certain low-hazard buildings, was presented as a cost-relief measure for homeowners and small businesses; DHSS expressed concerns but said it was willing to work on amendments and a sunset provision, and the bill was released. Senate Joint Resolution 18, designating August 31, 2026 as International Overdose Awareness Day and ordering flags at half-staff, was released after brief supportive remarks. The committee then considered Senate Bill 339, a technical correction to the advance health care directive form clarifying that an agent’s authority for voluntary mental health admission cannot exceed 72 hours, consistent with existing law. Members asked detailed questions about how the 72-hour limit works and whether it applies to voluntary directives; the sponsor and a Disability Rights Delaware witness explained that the bill only aligns the form with current statute and does not expand authority. The bill was released. House Bill 301, requiring hospitals to create discharge plans for pregnant patients discharged while showing signs of labor, prompted extensive discussion. The sponsor and supporters said it would improve safety, transportation planning, and aftercare, while some members noted Delaware hospitals already do much of this work and questioned whether codifying it was necessary; supporters emphasized maternal mortality disparities and the need for guardrails. The bill was released. Senate Bill 196, creating ownership disclosure requirements for long-term care facilities and resident notice rules after ownership transfers, was presented as a transparency measure for seniors and families and was released after supportive testimony from the Delaware Nurses Association and elder-care advocates. Senate Bill 320, expanding pharmacists’ independent prescriptive authority for certain non-controlled medications and allowing opioid use disorder medications under standing order, with added malpractice reporting requirements in Senate Amendment 2, was supported by pharmacists and nurse practitioners as an access-to-care measure and was released. Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 161, establishing a unified licensing and oversight framework for adult behavioral health providers under DSAM, was presented as a patient-protection measure; providers supported the goal but cautioned that regulations must be workable, and the substitute was released. Senate Joint Resolution 19, directing DHSS to study strategies to reduce health care costs, was released with a note reflecting concerns about broadening the analysis to include additional cost drivers and alternatives. Finally, Senate Bill 249 with Senate Amendment 2, modernizing harm-reduction programs and paraphernalia laws, generated the most extended debate: supporters framed it as life-saving public health policy, while opponents raised concerns about needle litter, community impacts, and whether the approach facilitates addiction. Despite the objections, the bill was released.

Transcript Highlights:

• extension services that have been raised locally.
• So we have had problems in the past with those local dollars being expended outside of that local county
• is there a way to ensure that these local dollars remain at the local county extension office?
• That's why they wanted to contact me to ensure that if it's local dollars, they stay with the local county
• This will eliminate that and let the local funds be used locally. I would recommend a yes vote.

Bills: HB3239 , HB3391 , HB3557 , HB4128

Committee: Senate Agriculture and Wildlife

Keywords: veterinary medicine, definitions, animal husbandry, board of veterinary examiners, telemedicine, veterinarian-client relationship, animal welfare, commercial pet breeders, licensing, advertising, animal cruelty, Oklahoma Agricultural Extension, local funding, financial institutions, county extension services, state funds, wildlife conservation, hunting regulations, mountain lions, black bears

Transcript Highlights:

• Local boards of health and state public health statutes and rules include inspections and reviews of
• And the reason is that if what is happening at some of these local health departments is that because
• For the record, Jamie Bodden with the State Association of Local Public Health Officials, here today
• This test is not just taken by on-site local health jurisdiction inspectors.
• That is where the local health jurisdiction staff going into it lack that same field experience from

Bills: SB6013 , SB6291

Committee: House Environment & Energy

Keywords: ski areas, winter sports, terminology, recreation, economic development, SB6291, on-site wastewater treatment, onsite wastewater treatment, septic system, sewage treatment, wastewater inspection, environmental health, local board of health, public health, professional engineer, land surveyor, certificate of competency, inspection standards, design review, supervised practice

Transcript Highlights:

• We in local government have quite a few bills.
• Well, welcome to local government, Representative Ibarra.
• Welcome to Local Government.”
• it comes to meeting taxation, as well as local jobs.
• No small matter to our local community members.

Bills: HB2103 , HB2388 , HB2316 , HB2006 , HB2224

Committee: House Local Government

Keywords: renewable energy, nonemitting generation, public entities, contracting, electric generation, distributed energy, agricultural land, energy generation, renewable resources, siting regulations, land use, urban development, vegetation management, shrubsteppe, environmental regulation, economic development, sales tax, rural counties, industrial land banks, growth management

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> with what far pH ists and pharmacy with what far pH ists and pharmacy technicians<00:10:00.600><
• > I</c> something like a center for pharmacy I something like a center for pharmacy I do<00:10:11.200
• </c> having a center helping with pharmacy having a center helping with pharmacy school<00:12:50.079>
• </c> find more mokan going into the pharmacy find more mokan going into the pharmacy profession<00:12
• </c><00:18:04.440><c> whereas</c> Pharmacy the center for pharmacy whereas Pharmacy the center for pharmacy

Committee: House Higher Education

Summary: The House Committee on Higher Education met on January 31 and heard six bills. The chair opened by outlining committee practices, including giving at least 72 hours’ notice for hearings, releasing testimony by 5:00 p.m. the day before hearings, and deferring bills needing substantive HT1 changes so members would not vote “blind.” Members briefly thanked the chair for the transparency approach before moving to the agenda. HB 223 would create a Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy special fund and workforce assessment fee to support a pharmacy center. Testimony from the Board of Pharmacy, the Hawaii Pharmacists Association, the University of Hawaiʻi Hilo College of Pharmacy, Mokai Drugs, and others generally supported the measure, emphasizing workforce data, rural access, student loan repayment, and retention. The committee later advanced HB 223 with amendments, including leaving fee amounts blank for further discussion and inserting a defective date, and the motion passed unanimously. HB 940 would appropriate funds for the rat lungworm lab at UH Hilo; HB 546 would establish the Aloha Intelligence Institute at UH to advance AI; HB 549 would create an early learning apprenticeship grant program; HB 1172 would add the Department of Taxation to the Statewide Longitudinal Data System for wage-data sharing; and HB 1320 would require UH to collect and publicly report graduate outcome data and create a dashboard. Testimony on these bills was largely supportive, with some privacy concerns raised on HB 1172 and a request to protect taxpayer confidentiality. In decision-making, the committee passed all five bills with amendments, generally deleting or blanking appropriations and FTEs for Finance Committee review, adding defective dates for further discussion, and in HB 549 adding a statement that the program is a matter of statewide concern. The committee recessed briefly for decision-making and then adopted the chair’s recommendations on each bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• the Board of Pharmacy to ensure patients have access to primary care services.
• The Board of Pharmacy is required to collect...
• The Board of Pharmacy is required to collaborate with the Boards of Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine
• meeting was held with the Board of Pharmacy, Medicine, and Osteopathic Medicine in November.
• So in terms of recruitment, it's really, I think, a recruiting tool for the local providers, less on

Committee: Senate Health Policy

Summary: The Senate Health Policy Committee received updates from the Agency for Health Care Administration and the Department of Health on implementation of 2024 health care laws. AHCA reviewed progress on workforce and reimbursement measures in Senate Bill 7016 and related bills, including FRAME and TEACH funding, graduate medical education reporting, behavioral health teaching hospitals, acute hospital care at home, advanced birth centers, non-emergent care access plans, and rural emergency hospitals. Agency officials said several programs are already operational or have begun payments, while others are still in rulemaking, federal approval, or report-preparation stages. Senators asked about timing, funding reversion concerns, and whether appropriated dollars would be spent on schedule, especially for behavioral health teaching hospitals and the new birth center category. The Department of Health then reported on practitioner licensure and public health programs. MQA described implementation of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, the Mobile Act licensure pathway, massage therapy enforcement changes, background screening expansion, liposuction safety requirements, pharmacist HIV post-exposure prophylaxis authority, and chiropractic dry needling. Public health staff updated the committee on FRAME and dental loan repayment, the Sinati screening grant program, the cancer research and innovation changes, the health care innovation council and loan program, the pediatric rare disease grant program, telehealth maternity care expansion, newborn screening for congenital CMV, the sickle cell registry and grants, and the swimming lesson voucher program. Members focused questions on how practitioners were being recruited to underserved areas, the pace of licensure approvals, and whether new programs were on track to use appropriated funds. The committee also heard a lengthy update from the Office of Medical Marijuana Use. The director reported more than 900,000 qualified patients, real-time seed-to-sale tracking now integrated across most dispensaries and labs, and ongoing compliance work on product testing, advertising, diversion, and patient safety. Senators questioned the decline in qualified physicians, how THC potency is labeled and verified, and what the agency can do about diversion to non-patients. The director said the office relies on complaints, inspections, lab audits, and coordination with law enforcement, and that patients can be suspended if violations are confirmed.

Transcript Highlights:

• . ...that's very common in our state, or for nights and holidays where pharmacies may not be open and
• it's difficult to know which ones, even some 24-hour pharmacies that are closed for holidays, and then
• also for price shopping and for issues we've had with varying drug shortages that vary from pharmacy
• to pharmacy where our patients may be unable to get a prescription for their child or for themselves
• What happens if you do have a 24-hour pharmacy in your town, but they don't stock that medication.

Committee: Senate Health Policy

Summary: The committee took up a large health policy agenda. SB 1568 on electronic prescribing was explained as a federal conformity measure, but members raised concerns about preserving patients’ ability to obtain paper prescriptions and about exemptions for emergency, hospice, and other situations. Emergency physicians testified in support of e-prescribing but asked for flexibility, and the bill was reported favorably despite Senator Harrell’s opposition. SB 1606 on patient access to records sought to standardize record-production timelines and require electronic delivery when available; after an amendment correcting a drafting error, the bill drew concerns about HIPAA, behavioral health confidentiality, and the distinction between personal and legal representatives, and it was reported unfavorably as a committee substitute. The committee then approved SB 1346 on fentanyl testing, with a technical amendment, to require hospitals and campus emergency departments to test for fentanyl in urine testing for suspected overdose or poisoning. SB 1224 on administration of controlled substances by paramedics was amended to clarify language and reported favorably. SB 656 on health care billing and collection activities was substantially revised by strike-all amendment to allow sale of medical debt to third parties under new limits, including no interest or fees and return of debt if charity care applies; it was reported favorably as a committee substitute. SB 68 expanded health facilities authority financing to include not-for-profit LLCs and parent companies, and SB 524 added Duchenne muscular dystrophy to the newborn screening panel; both were reported favorably. Later, the committee approved SB 1842 on out-of-network referrals after multiple amendments, requiring providers to verify network participation at the point of service and notify patients in writing, though several members and physicians warned it could burden providers and increase workload. The committee also advanced proposed committee bill SB 7028, which revises the Casey DeSantis Cancer Research Program, adds oversight and reporting requirements, creates a pediatric cancer research incubator, and establishes the Bascom-Palmer VisionGen initiative; cancer center representatives testified in strong support, and the bill was reported favorably as a committee bill. SB 172 on specialty titles and designations was amended to clarify enforcement and was reported favorably after supporters said it would prevent misleading use of specialist titles, while opponents argued it could confuse practitioners’ titles. Finally, SB 1690 on surrendered infants was reported favorably after supporters said it would codify and expand safe-haven baby box procedures and opponents raised safety concerns about the devices. The committee also noted SB 1606 remained pending for reconsideration next week before adjourning.

Transcript Highlights:

• And it's because Title 33, which oversees our local statutes, is 2,000 pages long.
• And it's because Title 33, which oversees our local statutes, is 2,000 pages long.
• But again, nothing can happen without the approval of the local government. Good, good.
• I believe it just says the local governing authority. Okay, the local, whatever that might be.
• So the existing ones already have to have the approval of the local government district.

Bills: HR175 , HCR81 , SB105 , SB290 , SB304 , SB374 , SB522

Committee: House Education

Keywords: TOPS, education funding, workforce development, postsecondary education, Louisiana Works, tech training, declining enrollment, public schools, school districts, Louisiana Department of Education, state superintendent, school closures, budget cuts, teacher layoffs, school consolidation, education policy, enrollment decline, birth rates, migration, private schools

Transcript Highlights:

• The fiscal looks like $20 million to local municipalities.
• As you know, local municipalities do not have the ability to have ad valorem tax assessments, so it would
• The fiscal looks like 20 million to local municipalities.
• As you know that local municipalities do not have the ability to have Avalorum tax assessments, so it

Bills: SB1319 , SB1369 , SB1378 , SB1379 , SB1309 , SB1330 , SB1481 , SB1546 , SB1122 , SB1403

Committee: House Appropriations and Budget

Keywords: SB1319, Corporation Commission, Oklahoma, remediation, environmental emergency, brine contamination, oil contamination, oilfield pollution, residential property, home buyout, property acquisition, fair market value, revolving fund, remediation fund, state plugging funds, well plugging, abandoned well, natural breakout, Department of Environmental Quality, DEQ

Transcript Highlights:

• >> Um, the way it says, I would assume it's going to probably be reaching out to the local emergency
• management, and they would be able to probably better address that like you say, I'm concerned about the local

Bills: SB1346 , SB1509 , SB1928 , SB2028 , SB2071 , SB2110 , SB2117 , SB2127 , SB2134 , SB722 , SB3

Committee: House Agriculture

Keywords: water infrastructure, wastewater, investment program, loans, local government, SB1509, groundwater, water wells, well spacing, water rights, Oklahoma Water Resources Board, OWRB, basin, subbasin, maximum annual yield, aquifer management, water allocation, water permits, temporary permits, irrigation

Transcript Highlights:

• Do not turn local governments into jailers.
• Ask your local Native American tribe to see how... Ask the Pima.
• Ask your local Native American tribe to see how it works out for them.
• “We operate four locations across the valley and employ over 30 local residents.
• Transit operations as a whole are a local issue.

Bills: SB1088 , SB1156 , SB1157 , SB1169 , SB1245 , SB1273 , SB1330 , SB1332 , SB1391 , SB1498 , SB1531 , SB1550 , SB1598 , SB1677 , SB1707 , SB1811 , SB1818

Committee: Senate Appropriations, Transportation and Technology

Keywords: cybersecurity, homeland security, artificial intelligence, state appropriation, VPN security, zero trust, appropriation, public safety, detention, unauthorized aliens, local government funding, border security, fencing, appropriations, southern border, local government, medical education, physician shortage, healthcare funding, Arizona health care

Transcript Highlights:

• It creates a state and local property tax program.
• House Bill 2451 is the bill related to local tax increment financing.
• Elizabeth Wren, staff to the local government committee.
• about 20% of your tax bill, and the local is 80% of the tax bill.
• parks or hospital districts, so local decision-making here.

Bills: HB2713 , HB2730 , HB2297 , HB2487 , HB2382 , HB2089 , HB2431 , HB2451 , HB2590 , HB2325 , HB2278 , HB2224 , HB2322

Committee: House Finance

Keywords: private detention facilities, business tax, occupation tax, financial impact, state revenue, aerospace, tax preferences, effectiveness, economic impact, grocery stores, underserved communities, food access, incentives, economic development, insurance tax, state regulation, insurers, taxation, budget impact, excise tax

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm a locally owned, family-owned home building company.
• We believe this is only a cost for local government.
• Does this carry with additional local costs then?
• This would have additional local costs as well, yeah, it would.
• it would also impact the local employers.

Bills: SB6346 , SB6347 , SB6147 , SB6246 , SB5940 , SB5882 , SB6223 , SJR8206 , SB5762 , SB5828

Committee: Senate Ways & Means

Keywords: millionaires tax, wealth tax, income tax, state revenue, tax reform, Washington estate tax, estate tax, inheritance tax, death tax, probate, decedent, gross estate, taxable estate, exclusion amount, tax rate, estate planning, heirs, beneficiaries, RCW 83.100, Department of Revenue

Bills: SB57 , SB155 , HB39 , HB77 , HB104 , SB57 , SB155 , HB39 , HB77 , HB104

Committee: Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund

Keywords: property, acknowledgment, conveyance, business entities, limited liability companies, state employees, payroll deduction, salary deduction, comptroller, membership association, membership dues, voluntary contributions, insurance premiums, financial instruments, deferred compensation, state payroll, employee benefits, association dues, withholding, Alabama Code 36-1-4.3

Transcript Highlights:

• and um county that applied to local and um county taxes<00:48:07.440><c> sunset.
• </c> grandfather their state and local grandfather their state and local exemption<00:49:26.800><c> or
• </c><00:49:40.720><c> and</c> state taxes, not the locals and state taxes, not the locals and counties
• Uh but that locals to to opt in on this.
• So, it's locals do what they want to do.

Bills: HB187 , HB341 , HB4 , HB175 , HB326 , HB187 , HB341 , HB4 , HB175 , HB326

Committee: House Ways and Means Education

Keywords: HB187, court fees, docket fee, sheriff's fund, sheriff's office, jail operations, law enforcement, county sheriff, court filing fees, Alabama Code 12-19-312, solicitor's fund, clerk's fund, forensic services trust fund, budget flexibility, public safety, municipal court, district court, circuit court, cosmetology, makeup application

Transcript Highlights:

• I would love to see a bill addressing this issue both at the state, the local, the hospitals, and every
• The programs are also beneficial for the communities, local government, and taxpayers.
• The state of Arizona should consider changing the local permitting requirements for food trucks, much
• Usually, local entities have more pulse of what's going on than the state.
• Without a local..." "Generator noise, waste disposal, and pedestrian safety.

Bills: HB2118 , HB2181 , HB2308 , HB2309 , HB2402 , HB2476 , HB2682 , HB2698 , HB2875 , HB2877 , HB2903 , HB2910

Committees: House Commerce , House House Commerce Committee of Reference

Keywords: mobile food vendors, licensure, food safety, statewide regulations, health standards, zoning, temporary vendors, HB2181, death certificate, death certificates, vital records, funeral establishment, funeral home, human remains, medical certification of death, death registration, state registrar, local registrar, county medical examiner, alternate medical examiner

Transcript Highlights:

• residential treatment centers in Texas do have a charter school on campus, but some do utilize the local
• Some have a charter school on campus but also sometimes send young people to the local school district
• Boarding homes are usually regulated locally, but not all are subject to this regulation.
• SB 1681 would require local governments regulating boarding homes to report to HHSC their facility standards

Bills: SB2041 , SB1777 , SB1681 , SB2311

Committee: House Human Services

Keywords: child welfare, foster care, Department of Family and Protective Services, DFPS, Family Code, conservatorship, placement selection, contract residential care, kinship care, relative placement, designated caregiver, best interest of the child, least restrictive setting, placement stability, child protective services, residential treatment, group home, family reunification, Texas foster system, residential care

Transcript Highlights:

• 1.5 billion billion in tax receipts by the state of Texas, another $642 million in tax receipts. in local
• The benefit to the state is $16.5 billion and $7.1 billion in local tax revenue. revenue since the time
• at UT, I'm also affiliated with the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. and the College of Pharmacy
• That's all. local governments.
• the legislature is the legislature's. been trying for the last 20 years to trim the rules of what local

Bills: HB5 , HJR3 , HB155 , HB513 , HB5 , HB155

Committee: House Public Health

Keywords: dementia, research, health care, Texas Institute, grants, medical breakthroughs, oversight, prevention, funding, healthcare, Texas, autopsy, confidentiality, public records, medical examiner, law enforcement, HB 513, surgical smoke, surgical plume, smoke evacuation

Transcript Highlights:

• Like she said, I'm a recent doctor of pharmacy graduate.
• Regional campuses are well positioned to respond to local employer relationships.
• Local employers around their campuses love their local campus and their local faculty and the responsive
• At the state level and at the local and community level... ...were elected officials.
• Loans have been secured for local match components.

Committee: Joint Higher Education Institutions Committee