Transcript Highlights:

• ORDERING THAT ONE ASSESSMENT PERIOD.
• NAMELY WE HAVE FIVE AND OF COURSE ASSESSMENTS.
• OUR SOCIAL STUDIES AND SCIENCE ASSESSMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN UPDATED FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS SO THEY BEEN ALONG
• STUDENTS MUST PASS THE ALGEBRA ONE AND OF COURSE ASSESSMENT AND GRADE 10 ELA ASSESSMENT.
• USING OTHER ASSESSMENTS.

Transcript Highlights:

• Where we need to be at.
• And that's where they're going to come up with the assessments.
• Well, I have kind of issue with everything in this other than the study.
• I think the study is a great part to this.
• , so— Involved in the study.

Keywords: 908, all

Summary: The conference committee reconvened on House Bill 1218 and reviewed a revised LC draft combining Senate amendments with portions of House language. The discussion focused on a provision allowing the commission to forgo an economic analysis for assessment drain projects expected to cost less than $1 million, with members debating whether that threshold should remain at $1 million or be lower. Supporters said the $1 million figure is a placeholder tied to existing code and that a study would help determine the proper threshold; opponents argued the economic analysis should not be eliminated and raised concerns about cost estimates being manipulated. Department of Water Resources Director Rees Haas testified that roughly half of the projects fall under the $1 million mark, and additional project counts since 2019 were cited to show how many projects fell under $3 million, $2 million, and $1 million. Members also discussed the fact that the Water Commission had previously interpreted the threshold differently, which helped prompt the bill. One senator said the study portion was the strongest part of the bill, while another supported the sections that would align the language and preserve the study. Before the vote, the chair proposed further amendments to Section 3 to shift the study from the State Water Commission to Legislative Management and adjust related reporting language so the study would go through the legislature’s interim water committee process. The committee then voted on the combined amendment package, which passed 4-1, with one nay. The amended version was attached, and the committee adjourned with plans to reschedule another meeting and circulate the revised LC form.

Transcript Highlights:

• needs continued attention.
• I will note that in the microgrid study it says one of its main conclusions is that it needs to be able
• they would need to get ready.<00:52:21.359> They<00:52:21.599> need<00:52:21.839> needed
• They need needed that time, but ready.
• grid study. grid study.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• vaccine study. despite the fact that few vaccine study. despite the fact that few of<00:35:51.839>
• uh you know the the need uh you know the the need to<00:37:29.440> I<00:37:29.760> think
• <00:41:07.440> I noted during the clinical study. I noted during the clinical study.
• I just follow up on what we are looking at in studies.
• How do we assess this on an ongoing basis?

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Summary: The Special Committee on COVID Response Efficacy met briefly without a quorum because many members were tied up in legislative committee of conference work. The chair said the committee would resume in June and, in the meantime, directed members to the committee webpage and the 2024 committee’s report and COVID-19 after-action report, which he said could be reviewed for possible updates and legislative recommendations on how New Hampshire should respond to future pandemics. The chair then introduced two recent articles as framing material: one about the U.S. Supreme Court declining to hear a challenge to the Los Angeles Unified School District’s COVID vaccine mandate, and another about CDC internal emails and alleged failure to publicly acknowledge vaccine safety signals. He argued these examples raised concerns about mandates, transparency, and the balance between individual rights and public health, and said the committee would revisit the issue in future meetings. Representative Pollazok thanked the chair for presenting both legal and medical perspectives and suggested the committee focus on reviewing scientific methodology and the quality of evidence behind competing claims. A member asked whether vaccine pamphlets now include risks and benefits, and the chair responded that FDA-approved products should have patient inserts available on the FDA website, including sections listing adverse events from clinical studies and commercial use. He said he would research and email the committee copies or excerpts. Members also discussed how to evaluate studies over different time periods, dosing levels, and the timing of side effects, as well as the difficulty of comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated outcomes when definitions change over time. Before adjourning, the chair said the committee would ask the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services how it would monitor and assess vaccine or pandemic-related issues in real time and whether additional structures would be needed in a future emergency. He said the committee would likely take July and August off, resume in September, and aim to have a draft report by mid-October and a final report by late October ahead of the November elections.

Transcript Highlights:

• We received funding to do a study Secretary: which we're working to get the study done.
• They work to help our workers on assessments to determine the needs of those individuals.
• So we have different levels of care for kids, and it's based on medical need or appointment need.
• me, high need population.
• the classroom assessment.

Transcript Highlights:

• Then, in the middle of that, are the content assessments. And so I'm a social studies teacher.
• assessment, showing that I had the basic knowledge aligned to the standards around what I needed to
• assessments.
• their assessment. their assessment.
• <01:20:39.600> to assessments for students, you need to assessments for students, you need

Keywords: Call to Order and Roll Call - 00:13 Approval of Minutes - 4:07 Kentucky Academic Standards for Reading and Writing - 5:18 Math Improvement Committee Report - 21:02 ETS Praxis Exam - 41:47 KDE Performance Review Data - 1:15:04 Adjournment - 1:57:54, 958, all

Summary: The committee heard a presentation from KDE on the revised Kentucky academic standards for reading and writing. KDE explained the statutory six-year review process, the public comment periods, and the main revisions, including updates tied to the science of reading, decodable text, encoding/decoding, and an updated vision statement. KDE said 308 responses were received on the initial public comment, most respondents favored keeping standards as-is, and about 12% of standards were revised. The department also said the document was streamlined by removing repeated graphics and reducing its size by about 24%, and that a later comment period drew more than 400 responses. No new standards were flagged for review. Members asked about alignment between standards, curriculum, assessments, and NAEP, and KDE said instructional resources should be aligned to standards, KSA assessments are aligned to the standards, and screeners/diagnostics help identify student needs. Representative Truett raised the idea of a textbook-to-standards crosswalk, and KDE said publishers and a future repository partner should provide such crosswalks for local districts. Representative Bojanowski asked why foundational reading skills are not directly assessed on the third-grade KSA; KDE responded that the assessment is designed to measure end-of-grade expectations, while screening and diagnostics are used earlier to identify decoding needs. Representative Gel asked about early childhood supports, and KDE said it is working with early learning and special education offices and promoting LETRS professional learning for both teachers and preschool educators. The committee then received the mathematics improvement committee report. KDE said the mathematics committee unanimously approved a new strategic plan for improving math achievement from pre-K through grade 20 and adult education. The plan centers on six priorities: student empowerment, effective mathematics teaching and learning, continuous educator development and growth, a continuum of learning, community and family partnerships, and teacher recruitment and retention. KDE said the plan is intended as a living document with goals, recommended actions, and evidence bases, and that it aligns with the Kentucky Numeracy Counts Act by supporting high-quality instructional resources, professional learning, and family resources. In response to Senator Thomas, KDE explained that the professional learning recommendation means districts should tailor teacher training to classroom needs and instructional materials so math teachers are better equipped to implement standards and support students.

Transcript Highlights:

• Do we need...
• health is assessed and and the<00:41:50.880> needs<00:41:51.079> are<00:41:51.400>
• to know we really needed needed the time to know we really needed needed the time to crosswalk<00
• was that we need um we need<00:45:32.960> to<00:45:33.240> we<00:45:33.359> need
• to we need to continue and I'll need to we need to continue and I'll read<00:45:34.480> you<00

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• , and the actuarial study also indicated they need a lot more contingency reserve than they currently
• If they determine that they need more money, they have the authority to go and assess the members.
• There's no need for statutory requirements that require risk management programs to levy assessments
• There's no need for statutory requirements that require risk management programs to levy assessments
• There's no need for statutory requirements that require risk management programs to levy assessments

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, the licensed RN may more quickly assess and determine what do we need to call EMS?
• Uh, the licensed RN may more quickly assess and determine what do we need to call EMS?
• Uh, the licensed RN may more quickly assess and determine what do we need to call EMS?
• You need the services. You need the services.
• <01:09:12.080> 2.0 those studies into the net study 2.0 those studies into the net study 2.0

Bills: HF3935, HF2216, HF4354, HF4210, HF4212

Keywords: assisted living, healthcare, training, unlicensed personnel, resident rights, safety regulations, nursing home, long-term care, guardian, conservator, arbitration, mandatory arbitration, consumer protection, fee increase, rate increase, price hike, private pay, public funds, Medicaid, waiver services

Transcript Highlights:

• Longitudinal studies show that they enter the exact STEM and manufacturing fields that Kentucky needs
• need to discuss this much more with Dr. need to discuss this much more with Dr.
• understand the need for the delay. understand the need for the delay.
• needing this change four sessions ago. needing this change four sessions ago.
• Any need a motion on the >> All right. Any need a motion on the bill? bill? bill?

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The committee first heard House Bill 44, sponsored by Representative Chris Lewis, which would create a robotics program trust fund and a robotics funding selection committee through the Kentucky Department of Education. Supporters, including Kentucky First Robotics executive director Kelly Gowen and students from Whitfield Academy, said the bill would expand hands-on robotics education in high schools, connect students to manufacturing and engineering careers, and help meet workforce needs. The proposal would fund grants for coach stipends, competition fees, kits, supplies, and related expenses, and Lewis requested a one-time $500,000 appropriation along with private contributions from manufacturers. The students demonstrated their robot and described how robotics programs teach coding, design, manufacturing, and competition skills. The committee took no questions and approved HB 44 with a favorable expression of opinion for passage on the House floor. The committee then considered House Bill 253, sponsored by Representative James Tipton, which would phase out the use of three-cueing reading instruction and require greater alignment with the science of reading. Tipton said the bill builds on the 2022 Read to Succeed law and would prohibit three cueing in public schools by the 2029-2030 school year, while also barring public university teacher prep programs from teaching it beginning in 2027-2028. He and Kentucky Department of Education officials said the bill is intended to shift instruction toward phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension, and to expand professional learning for teachers through LETRS and other options. KDE testified that enforcement would focus on support rather than punishment, using literacy coaches, regional support staff, and MTSS specialists to help districts transition. Members discussed the bill’s delayed implementation, the evidence against three cueing, and whether reading recovery should be excluded from approved interventions. Supporters cited studies and brain research they said show three cueing can hurt later reading performance, while several members emphasized the need for teacher flexibility and support. Representative Jackson noted Kentucky’s 2025 NAEP third-grade reading ranking of fourth in the nation as evidence that current efforts are helping. Representative Truett and others raised concerns about how the bill would affect classroom practice and intervention strategies, and Tipton and KDE said the goal is to align instruction with evidence-based methods rather than punish educators. The transcript ends during continued discussion of reading recovery and related instructional approaches, with no final vote on HB 253 shown in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• a workload study.
• The work with our contractor on the workload study and the classification study continues.
• meets the state's needs.
• , the workload study which we've already discussed, but then there's also a classification study.
• We need to meet federal requirements.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <01:37:38.719> we're think we need to do this study we're think we need to do this study we're
• study that was done 20 years ago needs study that was done 20 years ago needs to<01:37:49.480>
• need a new study relevant uh so we just need a new study uh<01:38:38.119> I<01:38:38.199>
• So we need to do a study to figure out what to do.
• > that there is so we need to do a study that there is so we need to do a study to<01:49:20.520> figure

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: The committee heard several Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund requests and laid them over for possible inclusion. Senate File 673 sought $795,000 to help replace or refurbish the structurally unsound Marshall bandshell. Senator Gary Dames, Marshall Mayor Bob Burns, and Parks and Recreation Superintendent Preston Stenard described the bandshell as an iconic community venue used for concerts and arts events, noting prior repairs in 2004, a 2001 structural report, and the need for full replacement due to settlement and deterioration near the Redwood River. They said the project has local support and a local funding commitment for the remaining costs. Senate File 627 requested $850,000 for the Olmsted County Historical Society to continue rehabilitation of the George Stoppel Farmstead. Senator Liz Balden, Dr. Mark Warner, and Commissioner Sanum said the site includes three National Register buildings and preserves immigration and agricultural history in southeast Minnesota. They reported that $1.1 million had already been raised and that prior Legacy funding helped stabilize one structure, but additional work is needed on the bank barn and Stoppel house to complete restoration and improve accessibility. Senate File 822 proposed $65,000 in fiscal year 2026 for the Minnesota State Band to provide free public performances across Minnesota. Testifier Craig Allen said the volunteer band, formed in 1898, uses the funding to travel to small towns and schools, including outreach to students and veterans. Conductor Keith Leuty emphasized the educational value of school visits and upcoming concerts in Moose Lake, Grand Rapids, and Cloquet, including a performance at Fond du Lac Ojibwe School. Members expressed support, and the bill was also laid over. The committee then began hearing Senate File 575, which would appropriate $3.8 million for the Grand Rapids Old Central School renovation. Senator Iorn, city councilor Rick Blake, and City Administrator Tom Pagel described the 1895 building as a historic and arts-centered community landmark with artist residencies, galleries, concerts, and other public uses. They said the building needs major repairs, including a new roof, structural truss work, HVAC replacement, and ADA and elevator upgrades, and they were in the middle of detailing those needs when the transcript ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• PROPERTY THAT MOVES BETWEEN DIFFERENT ASSESSMENT PRACTICES.
• CHAIRMAN AND SENATORS THIS AMENDMENT REQUIRES THE PROPERTY ASSESSED UNDER THIS NEW ASSESSMENT OPTION
• TO BE ASSESSED AT A JUST VALUE.
• AND SO WE ARE GOING TO LOOK AT THE ASSESSMENT ASIDE.
• FOR ME THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THIS BILL IS THE EDR STUDY.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• as their needs change.
• We found that we didn't need another program; we just needed alignment.
• We need our kids in school. So our research study is going on. It's a mixed-methods study.
• So the law states that we need to cover the testing instrument itself, methodology used to test and assess
• of high needs families.

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So few studies just to ground us.
• We need to educate them.
• We need to educate path and we need to educate the masses about what is the appropriate use because just
• based on research needs to be based on science needs to be based on outcomes.
• , whether they are common assessments, benchmarking assessments, adaptive assessment.

Transcript Highlights:

• Member assessments.
• We need to be clear.
• What y'all would need?
• We need that power, and stifling that power and that need is going to stifle the state.
• Member assessments, $500 million. Also, we can assess companies.

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Does every hospital pay an assessment fee?
• , who need an overnight stay of more than two days.
• , who need an overnight stay of more than two days as that's got whatever it is that those patients need
• We need all other providers to do what they need to do to enhance services and access for patients of
• And so they get very irritated that they have to pay an assessment without getting a benefit of the assessment

Summary: The subcommittee met to review Arkansas DHS hospital spending and reimbursement methods, with Secretary Janet Mann and Deputy Secretary Misty Eubanks explaining Medicaid hospital payments. They described fee-for-service per diem payments, cost settlements, and the upper payment limit (UPL) program, noting that SFY 2025 hospital payments included $688 million in inpatient/outpatient claims, $473 million in UPL payments, $248 million in cost settlements, and about $47 million in other payments such as graduate medical education and disproportionate share hospital funds. Members asked about why per diem rates vary, how cost settlements work, why UPL applies mainly to private hospitals, and how assessment fees are structured and funded. DHS said the hospital assessment fee is broad-based and uniform, used as the state share to draw federal funds, and that supplemental hospital payments after federal match totaled $548 million with no general revenue used. The Arkansas Hospital Association’s Jody Ann Tritt then gave a broader overview of the hospital landscape, explaining the different hospital types in the state, including critical access hospitals, rural emergency hospitals, PPS hospitals, and specialty hospitals. She said Arkansas hospitals face financial strain, citing a negative 5.18% patient service margin statewide and lower reimbursement than surrounding states. She argued that Arkansas hospitals are paid less than hospitals in neighboring states for similar services, that commercial payer rates and administrative burdens are a major problem, and that Medicaid and Medicare rates remain below cost even with UPL support. She also said hospitals are the backbone of community care, provide emergency and public health functions, and are looking for ways to invest in technology and telehealth but often lack the revenue to do so. Members pressed for clearer data on hospital finances, reimbursement adequacy, and the impact of commercial insurers. Tritt said the association had just authorized a statewide survey to gather updated financial information from hospitals, which she said would take about a year to complete. She also explained that Medicaid pays weekly, Medicare and commercial plans can involve delays and denials, and that hospitals often spend significant resources on revenue cycle work. The discussion ended with a brief update on assisted living reimbursement: DHS said one facility, The Pillars of the Community in Crossett, had announced closure, nine Living Choices waiver clients were being transitioned, and the updated rate study would be available after cost reports are collected, likely before the end of the fiscal year. The meeting then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• meet the state's affordable housing needs.
• And OPPAGA would study the use, potential use of mezzanine financing in solving our housing needs, as
• meet the state's affordable housing needs.
• And Opaga would study the use, potential use of mezzanine financing in solving our housing needs, as
• assessments as separate units.

Summary: The Committee on Community Affairs heard three measures. First, SB 184 by Senator Gates would require local governments to allow accessory dwelling units in single-family residential areas, with exceptions for planned unit developments and master-planned communities. The bill and its amendments were discussed at length, including parking restrictions, homestead exemption treatment, short-term rental concerns, impact and mobility fees, pre-approved designs, manufactured ADUs, and an OPPAGA study on mezzanine financing and tiny homes. Testimony from the Florida League of Cities raised concerns about parking, short-term rentals, and fee parity, while several senators supported the concept but asked for further refinement. The committee adopted the amendments and reported CS for SB 184 favorably. The committee then took up SB 118 by Senator Brodeur, which preempts regulation of presidential libraries to the state and defers regulation to the federal government, with the stated purpose of preventing local governments from imposing obstacles to a future presidential library in Florida. There was no debate or public testimony, and the bill was reported favorably. Finally, the committee considered SPB 7704, a proposed committee bill to repeal the sunset date on a public records exemption for property photographs and personal identifying information of applicants or participants in disaster-related housing assistance programs held by state and local housing entities. With no questions, debate, or public testimony, the committee approved the motion to submit it as a committee bill and reported it favorably. The meeting then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• a background study when the background a background study when the background studies<00:32:17.399
• study study fees<00:32:27.000> moving<00:32:27.240> to<00:32:27.399> chapter<00
• licensing requirements assessments licensing requirements assessments individual<00:37:32.280>
• Many different areas need to utilize background studies, I know, because this conversation started in
• Many different areas need to utilize background studies, I know, because this conversation started in

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• And yes, we need teachers, but we need the right teachers and only the right teachers. And I'm...
• We need an assessment, and we need accountability.
• Part of HB4 is eliminating the mandatory requirement of social studies assessments.
• I think these are some things that we need to consider. that need to be examined.
• It needs to come from something internal.

Keywords: 1185, senate, all