Transcript Highlights:

• Nurses have incredibly important jobs.
• Nurses have incredibly important jobs.
• In the early 90s, I watched my mom, a registered nurse, gather with a band of her nurse friends and stand
• This bill takes away those freedoms as a nurse and as a teacher.
• This bill takes away those freedoms as a nurse and as a teacher.

Committee: Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability

Transcript Highlights:

• And Eliza does go to school, and she has one-on-one nurse, LVN nurse.
• We need help at home. We need nursing help at home to have that respite.
• And in October, when everything came down and we couldn't have a nurse at home and we couldn't take Eliza
• We need help at home. We need nursing help at home to have that respite.
• And in October, when everything came down and we couldn't have a nurse at home and we couldn't take Eliza

Summary: The joint sunset oversight hearing reviewed five California regulatory entities: the Respiratory Care Board, the California Council for Interior Design Certification, the Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology, and Hearing Aid Dispensers Board, the Board of Occupational Therapy, and the Board of Naturopathic Medicine. Each agency described its mission, recent modernization or enforcement work, and requested continuation of its authority. Committee members focused on access to care, workforce impacts, fee structures, transparency, and whether proposed changes would improve public protection without creating unnecessary barriers. For the Respiratory Care Board, the main issues were a possible move from an associate to a bachelor’s degree for entry-level licensure, fee cleanup changes, and ongoing work on the role of LVNs in respiratory tasks. Board representatives said the degree change would better align with national trends and could support future reimbursement and professional advancement, while public commenters and some legislators warned it could worsen shortages, especially in rural and underserved areas. Much of the public testimony centered on families and facilities relying on LVNs for trach and ventilator care in congregate living health facilities, with requests to preserve or expand exemptions. The board also discussed its reserve cap and efforts to modernize licensing and enforcement systems. The interior design item drew the most debate. CCIDC leaders argued the current voluntary certification/title-act model works, that complaints have not shown public harm, and that licensure would disrupt the workforce and create barriers for experienced designers. Committee members questioned the lack of enforcement authority, transparency, and whether the model provides enough accountability or consistent plan acceptance by local jurisdictions. Public testimony was split between supporters who said the current system is flexible and effective, and critics who said the private structure lacks accountability and creates confusion, especially for commercial work and plan check acceptance. The Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology, and Hearing Aid Dispensers Board reported major modernization gains, including online licensure processing, faster application times, new continuing education audits, and updated supervision and advertising rules. Members and stakeholders discussed a proposed audiology assistant license, which the board and the California Academy of Audiology supported as a way to improve access to care and reduce workload pressures. The Occupational Therapy Board described strong enforcement and licensing performance, a new strategic plan, and a request for additional fee authority to address rising costs and reserve concerns; public testimony largely supported the board and a proposed reduction in advanced practice hand therapy training hours. The Naturopathic Medicine Board emphasized consumer protection, unlicensed practice enforcement, and consumer confusion over titles, saying most of its enforcement workload involves unlicensed activity and that stronger title protection and clearer statutory authority are needed.

Transcript Highlights:

• licenses out of nursing programs in Florida.
• as we all know we're in a nursing shortage.
• This is the data center for all things nursing.
• And this was a funeral home?
• I am here to testify on the item. of Nursing.

Committee: House Appropriations - S/C on Articles VI, VII, & VIII

Transcript Highlights:

• nursing slots.
• nursing slots.
• And they can't afford to leave home.
• and our nursing students than what we have at Evergreen.
• And they can't afford to leave home.

Bills: SB6061 , SB6234 , SB6170 , SB6176 , SB6182 , SB6335 , SB5647 , SB6047 , HB2367 , HB2606 , SB5998 , SB6005 , SB6003 , SB6129 , SB6225 , SB6228 , SB6231

Summary: The Senate met on February 23, 2026, opened with the usual roll call, pledge, prayer, and approval of the previous journal. Members then adopted Senate Resolution 8698 recognizing piano teachers, with several senators sharing personal remarks about their own teachers and the role of music education in families and communities. Guests from the Washington State Music Teachers Association and the National Guild of Piano Teachers were recognized in the gallery. The chamber then moved into budget debate, considering a series of amendments to the operating budget. Several proposals focused on housing costs, local planning, utility rates, and state spending restraint. Amendment 0772, which would have created a housing-related task force and increased funding, was rejected after debate over housing affordability and regulatory costs. Amendment 0785, restoring growth management planning funding for local governments, was also rejected. Amendment 0791, directing the Department of Commerce to study the effects of climate and clean energy laws on utility costs, and Amendment 0769, related to grid capacity and clean energy investments, were both adopted. Other amendments drew sharper partisan debate. Amendment 0798, which would have reduced the Supreme Court from nine justices to five and redirected savings to public defense, failed. Amendments 0794 and 0795, seeking funding for ballot measure costs tied to initiatives, also failed. Amendment 0799, intended to redirect Pacific Tower lease savings to developmental disability services, was rejected after discussion of the building’s current public uses. Amendment 0773, capping state spending growth and tying it to median wage growth, failed on a roll call vote, while Amendment 0777, addressing concurrent use of paid family and medical leave and sick leave by state employees, also failed after extended debate. Later, Amendment 0776 on tort liability reporting was adopted, as were Amendment 0758 creating a DSHS work group on community-based services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and Amendment 0786 was introduced to reduce cash and food assistance work-related funding, with debate beginning before the transcript ends.

Transcript Highlights:

• This budget proposal uses nursing homes to balance a budget and puts nursing homes at further risk of
• </c><01:02:51.240><c> million</c> 340 nursing homes facing a $900 million 340 nursing homes facing a
• c><01:03:04.119><c> budget</c><01:03:04.599><c> and</c> nursing homes to balance a budget and nursing
• We represent over 55,000 workers in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and self-directed home care.
• </c><01:36:13.000><c> homes</c> preferred settings like nursing homes preferred settings like nursing

Committee: House Human Services Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• I got nursing homes closing in my district, okay? For lack of funding.
• I got nursing homes closing in my district, okay? For lack of funding.
• I got nursing homes closing in my district, okay? For lack of funding.
• Many people with epilepsy would also be forced into nursing homes.
• and into nursing homes and other congregate settings.

Committee: Senate Human Services

Transcript Highlights:

• So this is really great that we have this universal home visiting program where nurses can come into
• I think the program is your universal home visit, where a nurse actually visits the home.
• If she opts in, she can set up her appointment for a nurse to come and visit her home.
• On the other end of the spectrum, we cover approximately 62 percent of nursing home days in the state
• Also, our SMMC health plans for the prenatal period are required to provide home visits by a nurse or

Committee: Senate Health Policy

Summary: The Senate Health Policy Committee met to discuss maternal and infant health, beginning with a presentation from New Jersey’s Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Authority (MiHA). Pamela Taylor described New Jersey’s statewide effort to reduce maternal mortality and racial disparities through the Nurture New Jersey campaign, a strategic plan with more than 80 recommendations, universal home visiting, Medicaid-covered doula care, hospital report cards, limits on non-medically indicated early elective C-sections, and a new maternal and infant health innovation center. Senators asked about doula certification, funding, home visiting, and how New Jersey coordinates across agencies; Taylor said the authority uses quarterly stakeholder meetings, annual summits, and a tracker for recommendations, and that community input helped shape its programs. Florida Agency for Health Care Administration Deputy Secretary Brian Meyer then outlined Florida Medicaid’s maternal coverage and managed care structure. He reviewed eligibility and services for pregnant women, labor and delivery, postpartum coverage, newborn coverage, and family planning, noting 12 months of postpartum coverage, expanded benefits in managed care plans, and new contracts launching February 1 with more maternal-health-focused benefits, quality measures, and a new quality withhold incentive structure. Senators questioned doula certification and duplication with Healthy Start, provider access and network adequacy, kick payments, quality reporting, and whether Florida should consider broader eligibility standards; Meyer said many details are still plan-driven, that quality metrics are public, and that the agency is working on maternal-health work groups and incentives. Department of Health Division Director Shea Holloway followed with an overview of Florida’s maternal and child health programs and data. She cited Florida CHARTS data showing pregnancy-related deaths, severe maternal morbidity, and infant mortality trends, and described the Title V block grant, the Maternal Mortality Review Committee, the Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative, the electronic prenatal risk screen, Healthy Babies, BH Impact for perinatal mental health, Healthy Start, WIC, family planning, telehealth maternity care, and the Pregnancy Care Network. Senators asked about delays in mortality review reporting, preterm birth, substance use disorder in pregnancy, WIC participation, cesarean rates, and the impact of the abortion ban; Holloway said the department is continuing to monitor outcomes, expand screening and telehealth, and use data and hospital partnerships to improve care. The committee then adjourned without further business.

Transcript Highlights:

• after they've finished their medical schooling and nurses.
• And I will tell you probably none of them are going to come home.
• </c><00:18:08.000><c> have</c> the ones for medicine and nursing have the ones for medicine and nursing
• Yes, do you see this as a temporary home, like within the research area?
• </c><00:24:13.080><c> like</c> you see this as a temporary home like you see this as a temporary home

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:

• And what brought this to my attention, I have a nursing home in Viai Viize, a small town.
• The city owns the nursing home. Their Oprah's is just eating.
• And when I got this phone call, they told me what it was costing this nursing home.
• I'm gonna try to do what I can to save these nursing homes around.
• And I don't think it's just vice size nursing homes.

Bills: SB134 , SB1356 , SB1407 , SB1611 , SB1639 , SB169 , SB1722 , SB182 , SB1870 , SB2039 , SB432 , SB609 , SB715 , SB716

Committee: Senate Retirement and Government Resources

Keywords: retirement, public employees, reemployment, benefit adjustment, Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System, state government, OMES, Office of Management and Enterprise Services, Department of Labor, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Rehabilitation Services, civil service, human capital management, state employee disputes, whistleblower, veterans employment, veterans placement, fleet management, state fleet, motor vehicles

Transcript Highlights:

• This is for nursing investigations upon request from the Board of Nursing.
• This is for workers' compensation telephonic nurse triage.
• requested by the Board of Nursing on nurses.
• Contract 126 is with Southern Christian Home.
• This is foster care services and family homes for children who cannot be maintained in their own homes

Committee: All ALC-REVIEW

Transcript Highlights:

• HOME FACILITIES AND LIVE IN GROUP HOME FACILITIES HAVING A BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE FOR A DISEASE THAT
• SO FOR PEOPLE IN HOME HEALTHCARE WHEN THEY'RE SEEING THE NURSE TWICE A DAY AND THEY GO IN IN THE MORNING
• IT OR THEY COULD GO INTO A NURSING HOME.
• AND A NURSING HOME IS NOT AN OPTION.
• AND TO HAVE SOMEONE GO INTO A NURSING HOME BECAUSE THEY NEED AN INSULIN SHOT TWICE A DAY OR THREE TIMES

Transcript Highlights:

• And then also with the nursing shortage, we've got a college of nursing.
• Our nursing program, I appreciate your comment on the Our nursing program—I appreciate your comment on
• So I'm acutely aware of the need for nurses.
• That's one good thing about our nurses that I want to bring up. Our nurses are local kids.
• So I feel at home appearing in front of everyone.

Summary: The Appropriations Committee on Higher Education heard a presentation from the Governor’s Office on the proposed education budget, which totals $32.5 billion overall and includes no tuition or fee increases for Florida residents. Officials highlighted major funding for financial aid and scholarships, including Bright Futures, Benacquisto, veteran-related scholarships, EASE, Open Door, law enforcement/first responder programs, and workforce initiatives. They also emphasized increases for workforce education, Florida College System operations, nursing pipeline and line funds, and university operations, performance funding, and faculty recruitment and retention. Committee members asked questions about the Ocoee Scholarship, the proposed post-secondary Guardian program, and how university recruitment and retention funds would be used; officials said the Ocoee Scholarship remains funded at current levels, the Guardian program would offer flexible campus safety options, and the university funds would be distributed to institutions for faculty recruitment and retention without additional directives. The committee then heard from a series of appointees and reappointees to boards of trustees for state colleges and universities, who described their backgrounds and priorities. Testimony consistently focused on affordability, workforce alignment, nursing and allied health programs, dual enrollment, adult learners, and local economic needs. Several trustees highlighted strong nursing NCLEX pass rates, expansion of campuses or programs, and efforts to tailor education to regional workforce demands such as health care, construction, law enforcement, aviation, and hospitality. One appointee from Miami-Dade College emphasized helping adult students return and complete degrees by easing credit transfer and admissions barriers. After hearing from the appointees, the committee took up the full slate of confirmations as a block. A motion was made and the roll was called; the confirmations were approved favorably, with members voting yes and no opposition recorded. The committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• And then also with the nursing shortage, we’ve got a college of nursing.
• And then also with the nursing shortage, we've got a college of nursing.
• And then also with the nursing shortage, we've got a college of nursing.
• So I'm acutely aware of the need for nurses.
• That's one good thing about our nurses that I want to bring up. Our nurses are local kids.

Committee: Senate Appropriations Committee on Higher Education

Summary: The Appropriations Committee on Higher Education received a presentation from the Governor’s Office on the proposed higher education budget, which emphasized no tuition or fee increases for Florida residents, continued affordability, and increased funding across workforce, colleges, and universities. The presentation highlighted major investments in Bright Futures, other scholarships, workforce development, the Florida College System, and the State University System, including funding for performance, student success, campus safety, and faculty recruitment and retention. Committee members asked questions about the Ocoee Scholarship, the proposed Guardian program on campuses, and how university recruitment and retention funds would be used; officials said the Ocoee Scholarship remains funded at current levels, Guardian options could vary by campus, and university funds would be distributed to institutions for faculty recruitment and retention without additional directives. The committee then heard testimony from a series of appointees and reappointees to boards of trustees for state colleges and universities. Witnesses from Eastern Florida State College, Lake-Sumter State College, State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota, Miami Dade College, Northwest Florida State College, and St. Johns River State College described their backgrounds and stressed workforce development, affordability, dual enrollment, nursing, cybersecurity, adult learners, and local economic needs. Several highlighted strong nursing outcomes and job placement, and some discussed campus expansion, business incubators, and programs tailored to regional industries. One appointee from Miami Dade College emphasized helping adult students return and complete degrees by better using prior credits. After hearing from the appointees, the committee took up the confirmation package as a block. A motion was made and seconded, the roll was called, and the confirmations were reported favorably by the committee. The meeting then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• So those are things that I can do at home. I'm CPR certified. Or things that I can do at home.
• And my colleague, Heidi Lucas, had to rush home for an emergency.
• And my colleague, Heidi Lucas, had to rush home for an emergency.
• You've heard our friends at the Nurses Association talk about workforce burnout and concerns with nursing
• That includes nurses, techs, our clerks, and everyone else.

Committee: House Health and Mental Health

Transcript Highlights:

• So this is really great that we have this universal home visiting program where nurses can come into
• I think the program is universal home visit where a nurse actually visit the whole.
• her home.
• And also on the other end of the spectrum, we cover approximately 62% of nursing home care nursing days
• See, health plans are for the prenatal period are required to provide home visits by a nurse or aide.

Transcript Highlights:

• The nursing homes are in our districts here, so I'll turn it over, if I could, Mr. Chairman, to Mr.
• c><00:01:47.079><c> affected</c><00:01:47.560><c> by</c> nursing homes um that were affected by nursing
• c><00:03:35.159><c> of</c><00:03:35.360><c> situation</c> nursing homes in this kind of situation nursing
• </c><00:04:38.880><c> home</c><00:04:39.080><c> facility</c> what we call the nursing home facility what
• </c> in the nursing home rate when these in the nursing home rate when these things<00:04:59.800><c>

Bills: HF958 , HF688 , HF702

Committee: House Human Services Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm the clinical nurse consultant for all the state veteran homes. I'm Martha Workman.
• As much as I love serving, I don't want to go into a nursing home and nobody else does.
• </c><01:47:35.199><c> home</c><01:47:35.360><c> and</c><01:47:35.520><c> nobody</c> to go into a nursing
• home and nobody to go into a nursing home and nobody else<01:47:36.000><c> does.
• </c> in and wanting to get in the nursing in and wanting to get in the nursing home,<01:54:28.560><c>

Summary: The Legislative Oversight and Investigation Committee met without a quorum, so no votes were taken. Staff presented a study of the Kentucky Fire Commission focused on firefighter minimum training standards and administrative spending. The presentation explained that Kentucky’s training standards are built from NFPA guidelines, that the commission currently requires 115 hours for volunteer firefighters and 300 hours for paid firefighters, and that those reduced hours were adopted by removing electives and other non-NFPA content. Staff also said the commission’s IFSAC certification testing for firefighter 1 and firefighter 2 aligns with NFPA standards, but the commission cannot require local departments to train or certify firefighters. Staff recommended that the commission formally promulgate regulations establishing the reduced training hours and work with KCTCS to better separate administrative costs for certain programs so compliance with the statute can be demonstrated. The finance portion of the report said the commission is funded by general fund appropriations for State Fire Rescue Training and by an insurance premium surcharge that supports the Firefighter Foundation Program Fund. Staff reported that the commission stayed within the 5% administrative cap tied to the overall surcharge allotment, but could not confirm compliance with a separate 5% cap for specific programs because KCTCS accounting does not break out those costs in enough detail. Staff suggested the General Assembly may want to clarify what counts as administrative cost in statute. Members asked about investment returns, local fire department funding, and whether training documentation is required; staff said some of those topics were outside the study scope and that IFSAC testing relies on chief certification that a candidate is ready to test. Representatives from the Fire Commission then responded, saying they agreed with the report’s recommendations and would work to clarify the 5% issue with legislators and KCTCS. They explained that the reduction in training hours was intended to remove electives, better align with NFPA standards, and address the difficulty volunteer departments have in getting members to complete lengthy training. Commission officials said training is documented through rosters and annual compliance reviews, and that IFSAC-certified firefighter testing is based on demonstrated skills rather than a required number of training hours. They also said the difficulty in tracking the second 5% cap stems from the way KCTCS’s PeopleSoft system records reimbursements as single transactions, making it hard to isolate administrative costs by program.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm president of the California Nurses Association, representing over 100,000 registered nurses across
• I've seen this happen to both newly graduated nurses and to immigrant nurses.
• Employers use the threat of debt collection to exploit nurses as they get their first nursing jobs.
• Nursing jobs.
• We want to staff our hospitals with community nurses, permanent staff. Nurses.

Summary: The committee heard a series of labor-related bills, with most measures focused on worker training, privacy, wages, and safety. AB 296 would require schools or districts to host apprenticeship fairs at least once a year, with flexibility on how they are run and whether programs outside the county can participate. Supporters said it would help connect students to skilled trades and address workforce shortages; school administrators opposed the bill as an unfunded mandate that could be impractical for elementary schools. The bill was later moved on call, with the committee noting it could not vote until quorum was established. AB 1221 and AB 1331 both addressed workplace surveillance. AB 1221 would restrict invasive monitoring tools, require notice to workers, limit the use and sharing of worker data, and require human review before discipline based on surveillance outputs. Labor groups supported the bill as a response to AI-driven monitoring, while business groups raised concerns about broad definitions, security cameras, investigations, and data-access provisions. AB 1331 focused more narrowly on privacy in off-duty and private spaces, limiting surveillance in places like restrooms, break areas, vehicles, and homes; hospitals and business groups opposed it as too broad and potentially disruptive to safety, cybersecurity, and facility monitoring. Both bills were advanced by committee vote. The committee also heard AB 1181, which would require firefighter turnout gear to be free of cancer-causing chemicals such as PFAS by 2027, and AB 1198, which would require prevailing wage rates on public works to reflect the wage in effect when the work is performed rather than when the project was first advertised. Firefighter representatives strongly supported AB 1181, while the chemical industry asked to continue working on scope and timelines. AB 1198 drew support from labor and contractor groups but opposition from local governments and housing groups concerned about mid-project cost increases; it was passed to Appropriations after a roll-call vote. Other measures approved included AB 1235 on skilled-and-trained workers for CSU construction, AB 1251 on ghost job postings, AB 552 on locating the Agricultural Labor Relations Board office outside Sacramento, AB 1110 on updating Cal/OSHA workplace posters, AB 1136 on expanding high road training partnerships, and AB 1234 on wage claim enforcement. AB 692, which would ban employer debt agreements that require workers to repay training or other costs if they leave a job, drew strong support from nurses and labor advocates and opposition from business and health care groups; it was also passed on a roll-call vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• homes, and that's exactly what happened to our nursing homes?
• </c><00:20:38.000><c> homes</c> population goes, and our nursing homes population goes, and our nursing
• </c><00:22:26.760><c> homes</c> we wouldn't have seen 33 nursing homes we wouldn't have seen 33 nursing
• So, why didn't we do nursing homes. So, why didn't we do that?
• homes take a cut, and we wouldn't have seen a couple dozen private nursing homes take significant cuts

Committee: Senate Finance

Transcript Highlights:

• Is that the nursing home provider?
• </c><01:32:28.040><c> the</c> of our nursing homes and I believe the of our nursing homes and I believe
• I agree our nursing homes do great work, but I have a nursing home in my district that's been purchased
• I agree our nursing homes do great work, but I have a nursing home in my district that's been purchased
• I agree our nursing homes do great work, but I have a nursing home in my district that's been purchased

Committee: Senate Health and Human Services