Transcript Highlights:

• general fund support to cover the costs of recent legislation that requires the CSU to provide drug testing
• devices defined as test strips, stickers, straws, and other.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm sorry, 2024-25, 2024-25 is also in a test one, at 1.6 billion lower than currently projected.
• For example, my colleagues are the only ones in the state of California that can perform avian flu testing

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• courses in high school are just as strong a predictor for dual enrollment success as standardized test
• Another example Strong as a predictor for dual enrollment success as standardized test scores.

Summary: The subcommittee began with an informal “college day” exercise in which members described what careers and colleges they would choose if starting over, often citing factors such as program reputation, location, cost, graduation rates, employment outcomes, and family or personal interests. Members mentioned a range of possible paths including law, aviation, education, construction management, psychology, social work, criminal justice, nursing, intelligence studies, and the arts. Several also highlighted the value of historically Black colleges and universities, dual enrollment, and career/technical education. The chair used the exercise to frame the meeting’s broader focus on Florida’s higher education pathways and student outcomes. Dr. Kathleen Plinsky of Valencia College then gave an overview of the Florida College System and Valencia’s role in it, emphasizing Florida’s statewide articulation and transfer framework, open-access mission, affordability, and workforce alignment. She described Valencia’s record enrollment, high retention, large share of first-generation and working students, and partnerships such as Direct Connect to UCF, Osceola Prosper, and Open Door grants for short-term training. Members asked about guaranteed transfer, apprenticeships, enrollment trends, student demographics, out-of-state residency, county scholarship costs, dual enrollment outcomes, and barriers to expanding career dual enrollment. Dr. Plinsky said the system supports transfer and acceleration well, but funding constraints limit growth in some areas; she also noted that dual enrollment participation is high and that Valencia’s affordability and student support efforts have driven recent enrollment gains. Dr. Jim Clark of Florida State University followed with an overview of the State University System, describing its governance, performance-based funding, low tuition, and strong graduation and research outcomes. He highlighted FSU’s enrollment, research profile, transfer student success, FSU Health, the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, partnerships with K-12 schools and Tallahassee State College, and efforts to expand nursing and medical education to address workforce shortages. After the presentations, the committee heard from a panel on student acceleration and mobility: Shannon Mercer of the Department of Education explained the Office of Articulation, the statewide course numbering system, FASTER records, the 2+2 transfer model, specialized AA transfer degrees, and credit for industry certifications, military, medical, and law-enforcement training. Panelists from Kaiser University, Florida State University, and Pinellas County Schools described their institutions’ roles in transfer, advising, career pathways, apprenticeships, and dual enrollment. No formal votes or bills were taken up in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• And it evolved from it being based upon PPE, COVID tests, and the like to being things that could be
• Is there any funding in Medicaid that starts to target maybe genetic testing or identifying clinical

Summary: The Health Care Budget Subcommittee held a panel discussion on Florida’s mental health and substance abuse system, with representatives from DCF, AHCA, two managing entities, and two providers describing how the state’s behavioral health network is funded and operated. Members focused on the implementation of prior legislative investments, especially the $50 million in recurring funding from Representative Maney’s bill and the earlier $126 million community behavioral health appropriation. Witnesses said the newer funds were used mainly for crisis beds, discharge planning, outpatient services, regional collaboratives, and a USF Marchman Act report, while the larger behavioral health appropriation supported CAT, FACT, FIT, forensic teams, residential and outpatient services, and crisis care, with most dollars going directly to services and only a small share to administration. A major theme was access to crisis care and the role of mobile response teams, 988, and central receiving facilities in diverting people from Baker Act admissions and reducing readmissions. DCF and providers said mobile response teams have expanded, are being used to de-escalate crises and connect people to care, and have shown strong diversion results and reductions in Baker Acts in some regions. Members also asked about waitlists, children in crisis, and how to handle people without housing or support; providers said discharge planning is individualized but often constrained by homelessness, transportation, and a lack of safe placements, and several witnesses identified housing as one of the biggest barriers to recovery and stability. The committee also examined provider sustainability, reimbursement, and funding gaps. Witnesses described delays caused by contract timing, cost allocation rules, and Medicaid reimbursement rates that do not always keep pace with labor and operating costs, especially for smaller providers and rural networks. DCF and AHCA said managing entities can provide advances, retroactive rate adjustments, and technical assistance, and that Medicaid managed care plans have network standards and complaint/dispute processes. Members raised concerns about a reported $7 million loss in federal non-sustainable funds, provider closures, and whether there is a formal ombudsman process for disputes; DCF said the federal reductions were known and tied to one-time funds, and that the department generally handles provider issues informally while working with managing entities to preserve continuity of care.

Transcript Highlights:

• Test of time, and I unequivocally and without qualification say that this does not cause autism.
• the vaccine for six year-old children without any evidence that it would benefit them and without testing

Committee: Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• They help with testing and they help to provide guidance along the way as well.
• maybe even less than that. ...and then it's offered in the language of the person who's taking the test

Summary: The Health Care Budget Subcommittee met to organize the new term, take roll, and hear introductory presentations from the six agencies under its jurisdiction: the Agency for Health Care Administration, Agency for Persons with Disabilities, Department of Children and Families, Department of Elder Affairs, Department of Health, and Department of Veterans’ Affairs. The chair outlined the committee process, including assigning members to review agencies and make budget recommendations. Each agency head gave a high-level overview of their budget, staffing, major programs, and priorities, with recurring themes including Medicaid, long-term care, disability services, child welfare, mental health, aging services, public health, and veterans’ health care. Several agency leaders highlighted recent initiatives and funding priorities. AHCA emphasized Medicaid managed care, provider regulation, Hope Florida, hospital-at-home, and cancer-related efforts; APD discussed iBudget services, Hope Florida, a managed-care pilot, online applications, and forensic care costs; DCF focused on child protection, foster care, adult protective services, food/cash/medical assistance, mental health, and opioid treatment; Elder Affairs highlighted Alzheimer’s services, community-based senior care, guardianship, ombudsman services, and disaster outreach; DOH covered cancer innovation, maternal telehealth, cybersecurity, HIV/hepatitis/syphilis screening, and school nursing; and Veterans Affairs described benefits and health care access for veterans, long-term care, and federal reimbursement. Several speakers also raised concerns about rising costs, provider rates, disaster response, and access to services. The committee heard two public comments from disability advocates about Medicaid redeterminations affecting iBudget waiver recipients and provider payment delays. In response, AHCA and APD said they were coordinating on data sharing, early outreach, escalation processes, and efforts to reduce disenrollments and make recertification smoother. Members then asked questions about provider rates, opioid settlement spending, managed care quality measures, pediatric rare disease grants, group home transparency, senior outreach, ABA services moving into managed care, annual Medicaid recertification, veterans’ service utilization, waiting lists for elder services, and prevention spending. No formal votes were taken during the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• This adds to a pathway that currently exists of educational credentials or a test option, of which one
• option of which one of the or a test option of which one of the questions<02:42:17.600><c> is</c><02
• This is a great idea to put it to the test. Bubble boy, Mr. President. Bubble boy.
• This is a great idea to put it to the test. Bubble boy, Mr. President. Bubble boy.
• </c> great idea to put it to the test. great idea to put it to the test.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, examples are, you know, drunk driving contexts or we don't get a breath test quickly enough.
• </c><02:24:25.359><c> I</c><02:24:25.600><c> mean,</c><02:24:25.680><c> just</c> breath test quickly
• I mean, just breath test quickly enough.
• Because we see this as being an important theory to test, that if we actually ensure that people who
• Because we see this as being an important theory to test, that if we actually ensure that people who

Keywords: 981, all

Transcript Highlights:

• These governmental overreaches and power grabs are test cases, and their impacts won't be confined to
• These governmental overreaches and power grabs are test cases, and their impacts won't be confined to
• These governmental overreaches and power grabs are test cases, and their impacts won't be confined to
• When our adversaries doubt our resolve, they become more willing to test our strength. Mr.
• Speaker, if Putin test our strength. Mr.

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• To make a long story short, education programs for minors in this state should not be means tested.
• So the original intent was not to have this means test to start with. talking about we only looked at
• </c><02:24:44.240><c> We</c> state should not be means tested. We state should not be means tested.
• So, I’m an advocate of EFAs and getting rid of means testing because I don’t see the need for us to be
• because I I don't I don't see testing because I I don't I don't see the<03:22:57.840><c> need</c><03

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The meeting was a House budget briefing focused on the overall state budget and the first of three divisions. The presenter reviewed the size and structure of the budget, noting that the state had eliminated the interest and dividends tax and still balanced the budget. He explained the major spending categories in the general fund and total budget, emphasizing that health and human services and education remain the largest areas, while transportation is largely self-funded. He also walked through the revenue picture, including business taxes, insurance taxes, court fees, communications taxes, and Medicaid recoveries, and said the remaining interest and dividends tax revenue reflected late payments from prior assessments. Members asked about the size of the tax cut from eliminating the interest and dividends tax, federal funding stability, and why Medicaid was being reduced if federal support was expected to remain steady. The response was that the lost revenue would have been about $200 million absent repeal, and that the budget gap was addressed through many small cuts across departments. On federal funds, the presenter said most aid is tied to multi-year grants and that core programs such as Medicare and Medicaid were expected to remain relatively stable, though some federal reductions could occur. He also said some agency reductions came from eliminating long-vacant, funded positions and from expected lapses. The discussion then moved into Division One, which covers smaller and miscellaneous agencies. The division made cuts to the governor’s office, eliminated a temporary position at the Governor’s Commission on Disability, reduced Department of Information Technology spending through a back-of-budget cut, and found savings in Administrative Services. It also delayed maintenance at the Sununu Youth Services Center, stopped advertising for paid family medical leave, changed retiree health insurance funding, and consolidated several personnel-related boards into one. The division eliminated the Commission on Aging and the Office of the Child Advocate, made a temporary special education advocate position permanent, reduced the Secretary of State’s budget, kept municipal rooms-and-meals distributions flat, and made changes to the retirement system, including $55 million to improve Group 2 retirement benefits and a new retirement structure for future state hires. The judicial branch was also asked to find savings and received two additional judges because of expected caseload increases from other eliminations.

Transcript Highlights:

• 1:2-4 James 1:2-4 says, "Consider it all joy when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing

Keywords: 924, joint, all

Transcript Highlights:

• [music] Yes, you can test it. One time. Yes. Yes.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Even right now, when you have someone as an independent contractor, there's generally a sort of a test

Committee: Senate Retirement

Summary: The Senate Committee on Retirement met on May 5 with four members present. HB 41 was deferred until the following week, and the committee approved the April 20, 2026 minutes. The committee then took up several retirement-system bills, many of them negotiated measures involving municipal police, firefighters, teachers, district attorneys, and judges. HB 45, by Rep. Bacallat, was amended and reported favorably. It makes changes to the Municipal Police Employees Retirement System, including retention bonuses, recognition of out-of-state police service, benefits for three officers killed in the line of duty before full enrollment, a DROP fix, and more competitive accrual rates. Testimony from the Louisiana Municipal Association, MEPERS, police representatives, and Mayor Helena Marino was strongly supportive, emphasizing that the bill resolves longstanding disputes and litigation. HB 1237, also by Rep. Bacallat, was reported favorably after testimony that it eliminates partial dissolution penalties for municipal police and adjusts related firefighter provisions; witnesses said it was a negotiated fix supported by municipal and fire stakeholders. HB 42, concerning phased retirement in the Teacher Retirement System, was reported favorably as a permissive framework allowing universities to offer phased retirement options. HB 17, by the District Attorneys’ Retirement System director, was reported favorably to add the Louisiana District Attorneys Association to the definition of employer and require annual reporting on the rehire statute. HB 21, a cleanup bill for the Municipal Employees Retirement System, was also reported favorably. HB 1134, creating a backdrop retirement option for certain judges whose positions are abolished, was amended and reported favorably after LASERS raised questions about early retirement eligibility and the need to bar future judicial candidacy. HB 24, by Rep. Owen, drew the most discussion. It would allow retired or certified teachers to return to work through contracts with school systems, with a three-year sunset. The sponsor argued it would help keep qualified teachers in classrooms and avoid midyear departures, while TRSL, the Louisiana School Board Association, and committee members raised concerns about fiscal impact, contractor status, workers’ compensation, leave rules, and overlap with a separate bill being worked on by the chairman. After an amendment clarifying the independent-contractor definition was adopted, the committee chose to hold the bill in committee for further work rather than advance it immediately. The meeting ended with a motion to adjourn.

Transcript Highlights:

• Right now, when you have someone as an independent contractor... ...there's generally a sort of a test

Bills: HB17 , HB21 , HB24 , HB41 , HB42 , HB45 , HB1134 , HB1237

Committee: Senate Retirement

Keywords: HB 17, District Attorneys' Retirement System, retirement system, reemployed retiree, reemployment, supplemental retirement benefit, service credit, benefit suspension, public retirement, district attorney, assistant district attorney, Louisiana District Attorneys' Association, employer reporting, annual report, retirement benefits, state employees, local funds, state funds, Municipal Employees' Retirement System, part-time retirees

Transcript Highlights:

• Do the women need to pass a physical test in order to be hired?

Bills: SB8 , SB10 , SB11 , SB12 , SB13 , SB14 , SB16 , SB17 , SB18 , SB20 , SB21 , SB22 , SB416 , SB455 , SB456 , SB477

Committee: House Retirement

Keywords: Municipal Employees' Retirement System, Louisiana, participation, employer, retirement, SB 10, Act 222, Louisiana State Police Retirement System, state police retirement, retirement system funding, employer contributions, actuarial gains, amortization, Permanent Benefit Increase, PBI account, benefit increase reserve, supplemental permanent benefit increase, public retirement systems, state pension, pension funding

Summary: The Retirement Committee met on April 29, 2026, established a quorum, and heard a series of retirement-related bills, mostly cleanup or technical measures affecting various public retirement systems. SB 22 would extend Municipal Employees Retirement System eligibility to certain positions in the Second City Court constable’s office in New Orleans. SB 17 would create a funding deposit account for cost-of-living adjustments for registrars of voters’ employees’ retirement system. SB 455 would allow certain district and parish courts to participate in the Parochial Employees Retirement System. SB 456 would update compensation rules for assigned retired judges, and SB 8 would add the Louisiana Asset Management Pool as a participating employer in MERS. All of these bills were described as aligning statutes with current practice or expanding participation options, and each was reported favorably without objection. The committee also heard several Louisiana State Police retirement bills. SB 10 would repeal outdated priority allocation and retiree raise rules and adjust handling of surplus employee contributions; SB 11 would increase the funding cap for benefit increases from 2.5% to 3.5%; and SB 12 would update membership and definition language to reflect the State Police Commission rather than the Civil Service Commission. SB 18 would repeal a special exception allowing certain MERS retirees to return to part-time work while collecting full benefits, while protecting roughly 30 current participants. SB 20 and SB 21 would update actuarial gain/loss and unfunded liability funding rules for school employees’ retirement and LASERS, respectively, in light of the new permanent benefit increase funding structure. Each of these bills was supported by system officials as cleanup or modernization measures and was reported favorably. The committee spent the most time on education and return-to-work issues for teachers and public employees. SB 16 would reduce annual trustee training requirements for retirement system boards from 16 hours back to 12 hours, which witnesses said would better fit smaller systems and match the original intent of the law. SB 13 would similarly update TRSL’s actuarial funding rules after the sunset of the experience account. SB 14, based on a 2025 study work group, would consolidate and simplify TRSL return-to-work rules and expand options for retired teachers, with witnesses emphasizing teacher shortages and the need to retain experienced educators. All three were reported favorably. Finally, SB 416 would allow certain Department of Public Safety and Corrections retirees to return to critical shortage positions after one year, and SB 477 would classify the chairman of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board as a full-time state employee for retirement purposes. Both bills drew questions and discussion, especially SB 416, and both were reported favorably. The chair announced the committee’s next meeting would be moved from Monday to Tuesday, and the meeting adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Do the women need to pass a physical test in order to be hired?

Committee: House Retirement

Keywords: 965, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• worked as an administrator, conducted placement interviews, operated the language laboratory, and wrote test

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• 1013 require type 48 establishments, which are bars and nightclubs, to make sure that they have drug test

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• If you're testing the constitutionality of a statute, that part of the bill going to Cole County makes

Committee: House Judiciary

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They are not tested for therapeutic equivalence.

Committee: Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development

Summary: The Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee heard SB 1094 by Senator Weber Pierson, which would expand pharmacist substitution authority for biosimilars and allow health plans to require use of lower-cost generic or biosimilar alternatives when available, unless the prescriber marks “do not substitute.” The author said the bill is intended to lower prescription drug costs, improve access, and require insurers to report on whether substitutions reduce out-of-pocket costs and premium growth. Committee amendments were accepted, including changes to align definitions with federal law, require a link to the FDA Purple Book, add a 30-day advance notice requirement for plan-driven substitutions, and allow exceptions for patients or providers. Supporters included Blue Shield of California, Sharp HealthCare, health plans, CVS, the California Chamber of Commerce, and other business and health care groups, who argued the bill would increase competition, reduce costs, and remove administrative barriers to using FDA-approved biosimilars. Opponents and “opposed unless amended” witnesses, including the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, the California Rheumatology Alliance, and some physician groups, argued the bill goes beyond current FDA interchangeability standards, could undermine physician judgment, and may create patient safety concerns for some chronic-disease patients who react differently to biosimilars or experience problems with multiple switches. Committee members discussed the “do not substitute” option, patient notification, insurance approval, and whether the bill preserves physician discretion. After debate, Senator Arreguín moved the bill, and the committee voted 10-0 to pass SB 1094 as amended to the Senate Health Committee.