Transcript Highlights:

• And the next slide will highlight that all 15 of the dimensions that we identified were rated as ones
• I rated as ones that could have as a high level of impact, though we were able to differentiate some
• As entries increase, the slow rate of release is largely due to long sentences.
• As entries increase, the slow rate of release is largely due to long sentences.
• at a higher rate than we're comfortable with and that we have the backfill to support.

Committee: Senate Human Services

Summary: The Senate Human Services Committee held a work session focused on child welfare dependency, reviewing implementation of 2021’s Keeping Families Together Act (1227) and 2023’s Child and Family Fentanyl Response law (6109), along with related data, lived-experience testimony, and emerging issues. DCYF first outlined the dependency process, explaining the intake, shelter care, fact-finding, disposition, review, and permanency stages, and clarified that children may be in-home or out-of-home at different points. The department emphasized that 1227 raised the removal threshold to imminent physical harm and strengthened kin placement, with nearly 60% of children now placed with kin or suitable relatives. DCYF also said 6109 directed courts to give great weight to fentanyl’s lethality and added regional legal liaisons, though some contracted supports were not implemented due to budget constraints. Data presented by DCYF showed entries into care fell after 1227 but rose again after 6109, returning close to pre-1227 levels; the department linked rising critical incidents to the fentanyl epidemic, parental stress, and system complexity, and described responses such as statewide Safe Child Council staffing and hotspot monitoring. Committee members asked for more detail on age breakdowns and geographic patterns of incidents. Advocates and lived-experience speakers from Legal Counsel for Youth and Children and a medical-legal partnership described 1227 as a necessary reform to reduce unnecessary removals and racial disproportionality, while saying they have not seen courts fail to remove children when safety concerns are clearly presented. They explained that 6109 was intended to help courts account for fentanyl’s lethality at shelter care hearings. A parent ally testified that family-centered, peer-supported services, treatment access, housing, transportation, CPR and safe-sleep education, and third-party safety plan participants can help families stay together and reduce harm. She said suitable-other placements under 1227 were a major improvement, but more inpatient beds, family treatment options, and community supports are still needed. Speakers also said application of DCYF policy varies by county, creating “justice by geography.” The committee then heard an update on Senate Bill 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, using input from more than 80 professional and lived experts, and recommended a phased data strategy: use existing data where possible, improve partially available measures, and develop new collection where needed. AOC said a prior data-sharing agreement with DCYF expired in June 2025, leaving a gap in statewide dependency reporting, and urged a new agreement, a standing cross-agency work group, and better integration with DCYF’s new child welfare information system. The committee also received a brief update on the Supreme Court Commission on Children in Foster Care, which is redesigning its mission and work groups to better center lived experience and cross-system collaboration. In emerging issues, Jim Theophilus described bridge housing for young adults exiting inpatient behavioral health treatment, noting that many youth leave treatment to homelessness or shelters and that two bridge housing programs have now opened, one on each side of the state. He said the model is based on voluntary, community-based support and a “return to community” plan shaped by youth input. The committee then moved to juvenile rehabilitation capacity issues, with DCYF’s new assistant secretary for Juvenile Rehabilitation scheduled to provide an update, following a recent visit by committee members to Green Hill School.

Transcript Highlights:

• At any rate, Madam Chair, committee members, and members of the public, every time I get to come before
• But another big thing that's happened is there will be higher rates or no insurance for communities like
• Medicaid supplemental payment that would have paid closer to an average commercial health insurance rate
• Is that because of your Medicaid reimbursement rates, or what is the reason why you saw a significantly
• It's growing, but our reimbursement rates are among the lowest in the behavioral health area.

Committee: House House Rural Development, Land Grants And Cultural Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• have to get an inspection again until essentially three years later because the inspection failure rate
• <00:22:42.799><c> on</c><00:22:43.039><c> new</c><00:22:43.200><c> cars</c> the inspection failure rate
• on new cars the inspection failure rate on new cars is<00:22:43.840><c> extremely</c><00:22:44.480><
• :22:45.280><c> know</c><00:22:45.360><c> the</c><00:22:45.600><c> exact</c> The inspection failure rate
• I don't think we changed the rate. My apologies.

Committee: Senate Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• service obligation has not been enforced, and the WICHE veterinary recipients had about a 50% return rate
• service obligation has not been enforced, and the WICHE veterinary recipients had about a 50% return rate
• service obligation has not been enforced, and the WICHE veterinary recipients had about a 50% return rate
• service obligation has not been enforced, and the WICHE veterinary recipients had about a 50% return rate
• About a 50% return rate from 2008 to 2017.

Committee: Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection

Summary: The Hawaii State Senate Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection held decision-making and hearing sessions on February 4, 2025, covering a range of bills on public funds, cremation contracts, condominium insurance, insurance protections, veterinarians, landlord-tenant issues, agriculture, sex offender licensing restrictions, and service animals. In decision-making, SB 69 on deposits of public funds was passed with a defective effective date, SB 525 on cremation service contracts was deferred for later work on a concurrent resolution, SB 805 on condominium insurance was passed with amendments incorporating Attorney General recommendations, and SB 1141 on insurance protections was passed with amendments expanding the bill to catastrophic disasters and adding insurer response and loss-run reporting requirements. All of those measures were adopted by committee votes, with some members excused. During the hearing portion, SB 493 on veterinarians drew mixed testimony: state agencies and animal welfare groups supported efforts to create a workforce development fund and scholarship/loan repayment program, while the Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association opposed the bill as written, arguing the board lacked capacity to administer the program, suggesting more WICHE funding instead, and objecting to new licensing fees. SB 606 on online business registration received comments from DCCA, SB 822 on landlord-tenant injunctions drew opposition from HPD and comments from the Judiciary, and SB 825 on eviction mediation received broad support from mediation advocates, the Judiciary, and others. Other measures heard included SB 276 on false labeling of Hawaii-grown roasted coffee, SB 1293 on tenant recovery in disaster areas, SB 1369 on solvency reporting for insurers and mutual benefit societies, and SB 1373 on automatic license actions against registered sex offenders, which received support from DCCA and several licensing boards. The committee also heard SB 1493 on emotional support animals, where the Attorney General raised constitutional and enforcement concerns, while disability advocates and others supported the bill and suggested clearer enforcement and disclosure language. SB 1662 on landlord application fees was also heard with comments from Hawaii Realtors and support testimony from individuals. In the later decision-making session, SB 493 was passed with amendments removing the proposed licensing fees and blanking appropriations, while SB 606 was deferred. SB 822 was passed with amendments adopting Judiciary recommendations, adding a Judiciary-facilitated working group to review the landlord-tenant code, and setting a defective effective date of July 1, 2050.

Transcript Highlights:

• than PCA services but they're of a rate than PCA services but they're of a similar<00:42:10.480><c>
• They talked about a very, very low rate of fraud, which was 1.4 percent. finish line, but the work of
• If we had an exceptionally low fraud rate, 1%, that's $200 million. That's just Medicaid.
• If it was an exceptionally low fraud rate, so I don't know why we keep pushing back on this tracker.
• If it was an exceptionally low fraud rate, so I don't know why we keep pushing back on this tracker.

Bills: HF3043 , HF2891

Committee: House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• Disabled veterans, if you have a rating of 10%, you're a disabled veteran, that or more, correct?
• altitudes that minimize noise impact on the ground, including asking pilots to use the maximum safe climb rate
• A subsection of about 25% of the Massachusetts veteran population, nearly 66,000 veterans, are rated
• following language to define disabled veterans: veterans who have a service-connected disability rating
• medicine and rapid battlefield transportation have dramatically increased or decreased field death rates

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Transportation

Summary: The Joint Committee on Transportation held a hybrid hearing on 36 bills covering aviation, commercial vehicles, school buses, veterans license plates, and related transportation issues. Chair Jim Arciero and Senate Chair Brendan Crighton outlined the hearing procedures, then the committee heard testimony on a range of measures, including a bill to modernize alternative student transportation for vulnerable students such as those covered by McKinney-Vento, foster children, and students with disabilities; a bill on unmanned aerial systems that would define drones and restrict weaponization, interference with aircraft, and certain surveillance; and a bill addressing airplane noise and reporting at Beverly Regional Airport. Supporters of the student transportation bill argued it would update outdated school bus requirements while preserving safety standards, while drone-related testimony was split between sponsors and public safety advocates who supported stronger restrictions and industry representatives who warned the bills could conflict with federal law and harm legitimate commercial uses. The committee also heard testimony on workforce and school transportation bills. Representatives and industry witnesses supported a proposal to create a grant program and career outreach for the trucking industry, citing a persistent driver shortage and the importance of trucking to the state’s economy. Teamsters Local 170 supported a bill to ease unemployment job-search requirements for school bus drivers and monitors who are expected to return to work within a short period, saying the current rules create unnecessary burdens during summer layoffs. Another school transportation bill would create an under-the-hood exception for CDL licensing of school bus drivers; several chiropractors testified in support, saying they already perform DOT-style exams and should be explicitly authorized to do school bus driver medical certifications. Veterans-related testimony focused on license plate and disability-definition bills. Advocates supported a Medal of Fidelity license plate for Gold Star families and a separate bill to create an air medal plate. The Office of the Veteran Advocate testified in favor of revising the state’s definition of disabled veteran for RMV purposes, arguing the current language is tied to special monthly compensation categories and does not adequately reflect modern service-connected disabilities, including invisible wounds. The American Legion also urged clarification of the definition, while opposing a separate women veterans plate on the grounds that it could divide veterans unnecessarily. The committee took no votes during the hearing and ended with a motion to adjourn.

Transcript Highlights:

• core outpatient services using the same set of services included in the MassHealth bundle and at a rate
• The risks and rates persist regardless of age, marital status, education level, or socioeconomic status
• inequities, with pregnant individuals of color often finding that they are being underdiagnosed at higher rates
• and receiving the necessary mental health care at lower rates than their white counterparts.
• specialty care have shown improvements in symptoms, functioning, increased education and employment rates

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Financial Services

Summary: The committee held a hearing on a large group of behavioral health and insurance-related bills. Topics included expanding access to mental health services by allowing physician assistants to authorize Section 12 emergency holds and be recognized as licensed mental health professionals (H. 1131/S. 773); improving coverage for community behavioral health centers so commercial insurance matches MassHealth’s bundled outpatient and crisis services (H. 1276/S. 703); eliminating cost sharing for certain behavioral health services (S. 718); extending detox and clinical stabilization coverage from 14 to 30 days and adding transitional support services (H. 1319/S. 772); requiring coverage for dual-diagnosis treatment in psychiatric facilities (H. 1277/S. 771); and preserving access to treatment for serious mental illness through coverage of coordinated specialty care and assertive community treatment (H. 1135/S. 709). The committee also heard bills on preventive behavioral health services for children (H. 1228/S. 802) and post-pregnancy mental health care, including postpartum depression and pregnancy loss-related care (H. 1314/S. 823).

Transcript Highlights:

• We have an RN vacancy rate. I think we have about 9 to 12 vacancies for RNs.
• Our mental health technicians, we have a larger vacancy rate there, ...health technicians, we have a
• larger vacancy rate there, and we're working hard on how to address that.
• And this will include workforce metrics, including our vacancy rates, percentage of positions that are
• occupied, interim rate of call-outs, that we will update in real time.

Summary: The joint Senate and House Behavioral Health committee met for informational presentations on the Oregon State Hospital and civil commitment, followed by a planned tour of the hospital. Oregon Health Authority and Oregon State Hospital leaders reported that Sean Murphy will become the next permanent superintendent on July 13, with Sarah Castle to follow as permanent chief nursing officer on July 20. They described recent leadership turnover, a major organizational restructure, and efforts to build a culture of safety, transparency, and accountability. Officials said the hospital regained Joint Commission accreditation and CMS compliance, and they highlighted daily safety huddles, incident review processes, stronger escalation procedures, and improved management of seclusion and restraint. Committee members pressed hospital leaders on past prolonged seclusion practices, falls, staffing, and the need for better public reporting; OHA said it is building a public dashboard of key safety and workforce metrics. The committee then heard a civil commitment overview from the Oregon Judicial Department. The presenter explained that civil commitment is a separate legal process from criminal cases, usually beginning with a hospital hold, investigation, court review, appointed counsel, and a hearing within five days. She summarized changes made in House Bill 2005, including revised standards for danger to self, danger to others, and basic-needs commitments, plus a second 14-day diversion option. She cautioned that the new law has only been in effect since January and that it is too early to draw firm conclusions from the data, though there has been a recent uptick in commitments and a decrease in diversions. Testimony from NAMI Oregon and a forensic psychiatrist emphasized that Oregon still relies too heavily on jails and state hospitals because community services, housing, and outpatient supports are insufficient. They argued that the state needs more less-restrictive alternatives, including better use of assisted outpatient treatment or outpatient civil commitment, and more supported housing so people do not cycle between homelessness, incarceration, and hospitalization. A family member described a relative remaining psychotic in jail for more than 120 days before ending up back at the state hospital, urging faster intervention and better collaboration among courts, counties, hospitals, and state agencies. Committee members and witnesses also discussed workforce shortages, the expansion of secure residential treatment beds, and the need for broader system reforms beyond the hospital itself.

Transcript Highlights:

• And this same three-year $3,000 investment led to an 8.2 percentage point increase in graduation rates
• Those who have the lowest home ownership rates, guess what? Black and Native Americans.
• Those who have the lowest home ownership rates, guess what?
• who have the lowest home ownership rates, guess what? Black and Native Americans.
• his supporters have been spreading for over a decade, and especially in the last couple of days, the rate

Committee: Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments

Transcript Highlights:

• And I would say that maybe not all jobs that have low rates of return on the investment are not as needed
• It pays about $17 an hour, which is the market rate, and that's not great.
• Additionally, we've achieved the highest first-year retention rate in each of the last two years, going
• At the pace and rate in which we're currently enrolling students for fall of '26, we'll be capped out
• At the pace and rate in which we're currently enrolling students for fall of '26, we'll be capped out

Committee: House Higher Education and Workforce Development

Transcript Highlights:

• from service members deployed literally around the world amounted to only a 25% voter participation rate
• After adopting their portals, Massachusetts saw a two percentage point reduction in ballot rejection rates
• , and Rhode Island saw its rejection rate drop by a half a percentage point.
• This is now the national norm because of the state, saw its rejection rate dropped by a half a percentage
• States Election Assistance Commission, issued a risk assessment memo on electronic ballot return, rating

Committee: Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments

Transcript Highlights:

• We increased the monthly reimbursement rate to licensed foster caregivers by 50% for older youth.
• We have a very high inter-rater reliability rate, but a second person does make sure they agree that
• Calls to the hotline spiked, which, if you’re keeping the 50% screen-in rate the same, the number of
• But we’re seeing 13- to 17-year-olds coming in at a very high rate.
• So a little bit higher reduction rate, but all states have been reducing the number of children in the

Committee: Joint Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on the Department of Child Safety

Summary: The Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on the Department of Child Safety met to review child welfare reforms developed after prior oversight hearings on the deaths of Emily Pike, Zariah Dodd, and Rebecca Baptiste. Committee members and the chair described a series of stakeholder meetings with tribes, DCS, law enforcement, county attorneys, schools, and other advocates that produced several bills aimed at improving communication, reporting, investigations, and court decision-making. The chair said SB 1125, creating a tribal-DCS memorandum of understanding, had already been signed, and highlighted HB 1126 on school records access, HB 1127 on mandatory reporting by people with direct knowledge, HB 1174 on hotline case history and review of prior reports, HB 1175 on photo documentation of children in care, HB 1496 on allowing attorneys to share more safety information with judges, and HB 1631 requiring advanced forensic interviews within 72 hours in sexual abuse cases, with some exceptions. DCS Director Catherine Patak presented agency data showing nearly 160,000 hotline calls in 2025, about 43,000 investigations, and a relatively steady out-of-home care population that ended the year at 7,077 children. She said about 3,000 children were reunified, 1,300 adopted, and 800 entered guardianship, while 1,100 young adults received transition services. She also reported 534 new foster homes licensed, a 50% reimbursement increase for older youth caregivers, a 40% decrease in youth missing from care since September 2024, and a 30% reduction in fatalities of children in care since 2024. Patak discussed the annual fatality review process, noting that 52 of 123 alleged fatality or near-fatality reports had prior DCS involvement, and described agency responses such as health plans for children with complex medical needs, a diabetes training app, expanded LifeSet services, fentanyl and safe-sleep prevention campaigns, staffing realignment, retention efforts, and improved coordination with law enforcement and tribes. Members asked about group home notification rules, the distinction between “missing” and “runaway,” behavioral health needs driving children back into care, training under Jacob’s Law, and whether best practices exist for placing sexually abused youth with appropriate staff. Patak said DCS is updating rules to remove “runaway” and “AWOL” in favor of “missing,” and that the agency is considering whether the statute’s immediate-or-24-hour reporting language should be clarified. She also said DCS does not currently have a specific staffing requirement tied to a child’s sex in group homes, but would look into practices in other states. The committee then heard from Malcolm Hightower of Casey Family Programs, who said Arizona is generally in the middle of the pack nationally: slightly higher than average in foster care entries and congregate care use, but near the national average on screening, substantiation, recurrence, re-entry, and maltreatment fatalities. He praised Arizona’s kin placement rate, said congregate care remains a challenge, and noted that neglect definitions and poverty-related removals remain an area of policy discussion. Finally, K.C. Melsick of Collaborative Safety described the organization’s safety-science approach to systemic critical incident reviews, arguing that child welfare systems should move away from blame and toward learning from near-misses and system failures. Members discussed applying similar methods across state agencies, and the committee adjourned after members and witnesses emphasized continued collaboration and further reforms in the interim and next session.

Transcript Highlights:

• We have the second-lowest rate of homeownership of any state in the country.
• Our statewide sales tax rate is the highest in the country, and when combined with local taxes, it places
• Our statewide sales tax rate is the highest in the country.
• reason why people do that is because the alternative is worse, which is being a sitting duck to rising rates
• and a CPUC that continues to rubber-stamp those rates.

Summary: The Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation met as a subcommittee and announced that all bills on the agenda had revenue impacts placing them on the suspense file, so none were eligible for immediate vote. The chair also reviewed procedural rules, including the deadline for position letters and the suspense-file threshold, and later established a quorum before proceeding through the agenda. Most measures were presented, heard, and then referred to suspense without committee votes. Several bills focused on tax credits or exclusions tied to housing and property. AB 1606 proposed a five-year tax credit for small businesses facing cleanup costs from illegal dumping and encampments; AB 1971 would clarify that home-hardening retrofits are not assessable for property tax purposes; AB 2394 would create a capital gains exclusion to encourage long-term homeowners to sell and downsize; AB 1714 would offer a credit for sellers who complete required repairs for CalHFA-assisted first-time buyers; and AB 2389 would extend the property tax exclusion for newly installed solar systems. Supporters generally framed these bills as targeted relief or affordability measures, while opponents raised concerns about revenue loss, policy effectiveness, or implementation. The committee also heard a series of agriculture-related bills. AB 2427 proposed a tax credit for qualified agricultural producers to offset labor, equipment, infrastructure, and production costs, and AB 2192 would extend the state’s farm equipment sales tax exemption to local sales taxes with a General Fund backfill for local governments. Supporters argued both measures would help preserve California agriculture, jobs, and food security amid rising costs and regulatory burdens; opponents questioned the need for the subsidies and the size of the fiscal impact. Both bills were referred to suspense. Other measures included AB 1611, which would end a tax break on capital gains from single-family home sales for large corporate investors to discourage investor competition with homebuyers; AB 2522, which would exempt over-the-counter medications from sales tax; AB 2444, which would add a state deduction for ScholarShare 529 contributions and align California law with federal Roth IRA rollover rules; and AB 1550, which would allow deductions for tips and overtime. Each drew support from sponsors and allied groups, while tax reform and local government representatives opposed several bills over revenue and policy concerns. All of these measures were also sent to the suspense file, and the committee adjourned after completing its agenda.

Transcript Highlights:

• We increased the monthly reimbursement rate to licensed foster caregivers by 50% for older youth.
• We have a very high inter-rater reliability rate, but a second person does make sure they agree that
• Calls to the hotline spiked, which, if you're keeping the 50% screen-in rate the same, the number of
• But we're seeing 13 to 17 coming in at a very high rate.
• So a little bit higher reduction rate, but all states have been reducing the number of children in the

Committee: Joint Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on the Department of Child Safety

Transcript Highlights:

• to more dangerous explosives while simultaneously our healthcare facilities are closing at a rapid rate
• to more dangerous explosives while simultaneously our healthcare facilities are closing at a rapid rate
• closing at our healthcare facilities are closing at a<00:19:59.240><c> rapid</c><00:19:59.840><c> rate
• <c> would</c><00:20:00.960><c> hate</c><00:20:01.240><c> to</c><00:20:01.360><c> think</c> a rapid rate
• And I would hate to think a rapid rate.

Transcript Highlights:

• In states where it's been implemented, red and blue, juvenile crime rates have gone down, especially
• kind of led me to believe that you were saying by doing the moment of silence would lower the suicide rate
• So, to me, if the mental health has improved, that means the suicide rates are lower.
• Did the suicide rate go down because of these moments of silence?
• From a competitive standpoint, her Universal Tennis Rating, the metric used in college tennis, places

Committee: Senate Education

Transcript Highlights:

• And instead of paying for something like an online speech pathologist at a huge, huge rate and out-of-state
• is about $55 to $70 per hour, while an outside agency contracted for a virtual school psychologist rate
• In addition, one contracting agency charges a flat rate of $25,000, regardless of whether a district
• She has a great interest rate, and she likes her house.
• Sometimes students naturally that have behavior challenges receive negative feedback at a higher rate

Committee: Senate Education

Transcript Highlights:

• Utility rates is a big source of that.
• Industry is not causing the result of higher data, excuse me, higher utility rates for those customers
• utilities, and provides real teeth and protections, not just intent, to protect residential utility rate
• Despite operating with limited financial resources and facing a 14% unemployment rate... ...operating
• with limited financial resources and facing a 14% unemployment rate among Black residents in the region

Transcript Highlights:

• family's tax credit has been shown to reduce poverty and improve New Mexico's labor force participation rate
• for taxpayers to claim and for TRD to administer, which will increase the usage and keep the error rates
• So then we're looking at the error rates going way down when we're talking about administering these
• And so that was just kind of my tie rate to work into this.
• So we will work with the veteran to support that claim and get back a decision rating, which then we

Committee: House House Taxation & Revenue

Transcript Highlights:

• Madam Chair, we've got places like Luna County where the participation rates and unemployment rates are
• Apprentice and Training Fund for public works construction projects, providing for a contribution rate
• raise To be clear, this bill does not create new apprenticeship programs, does not raise contribution rates
• would say we have Amshaw, we have OSHA, we have workers' comp, that if you have an accident, your rates

Summary: The House Labor, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee met with a quorum and first addressed a point of order over whether HB 270 could be heard after being taken up earlier in the Transportation Committee. The chair ruled the bill could proceed because it was assigned to this committee and had been properly noticed. The committee then heard HB 280, which would create a three-year pilot program to support paid student internships through grants administered by the Department of Workforce Solutions. Supporters said the bill would help fund internships, mentoring, and transportation, and could improve workforce development, graduation outcomes, and pathways into apprenticeships or higher education. Members asked about administrative costs, student selection, rural and tribal access, payment mechanisms, and whether public entities, land grants, and dual credit could be included. The bill sponsor and witnesses said the program would likely serve about 100 students, use a sliding-scale matching model, and allow local flexibility in program design. The committee voted due pass on HB 280. The committee then heard House Memorial 46, honoring the Hurley family and especially Major General Patrick Hurley and his son Wilson Hurley for military service and artistic contributions in New Mexico. The memorial was presented as a tribute to a family of heroes, and members expressed support. The committee voted due pass on the memorial. Finally, the committee heard HB 270, which would amend the Public Works Apprentice and Training Act to require contributions to apprenticeship and training programs on most public works projects, including road and utility work, while exempting trades without approved programs. Sponsors said the bill would close loopholes, broaden participation, and strengthen the workforce pipeline. Opposition came from asphalt, contractor, and utility groups, which argued the bill would raise costs, duplicate existing training programs, and create access problems for nonunion and geographically distant contractors. Supporters from mechanical contractors, building trades, and labor groups said the bill would improve workforce development and keep training dollars in New Mexico. After debate over the earlier Transportation Committee action and the bill’s cost impacts, the committee voted due pass on HB 270 by a 5-3 roll call.