Video & Transcript Research : 'workers compensation'

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AZ

Arizona 2026 Regular Session

03/10/2026 - House Commerce

Commerce

Summary: The Commerce Committee met and heard three bills, after announcing that Senate Bill 1254 would not be heard. Senate Bill 1181, which revises requirements for certified public accountants and is identical to House Bill 2476, was presented as a CPA pathways measure that opens additional routes to CPA certification in Arizona. Testimony from the Arizona Society of Certified Public Accountants supported the bill as part of a nationwide effort to keep Arizona CPAs competitive. The committee had no questions and voted 10-0 to give SB 1181 a do pass recommendation. Senate Bill 1252 adopted the Uniform Law Commission’s Uniform Assignment for Benefit of Creditors Act. Staff and Uniform Law Commission testimony explained that the bill creates a debtor-initiated alternative to bankruptcy or receivership, allowing a distressed business to assign assets to an assignee who liquidates them and distributes proceeds to creditors under a priority scheme. The act was described as flexible, with creditor notice, claims resolution, and court oversight provisions. The committee again had no questions and voted 10-0 to recommend SB 1252 do pass. Senate Bill 1415 set qualifications for salaried employees of insurers or managing general agents to obtain an adjuster license without taking the Arizona adjuster exam, and limited such licenses to adjusting claims as salaried employees. State Farm testified in support, explaining that other states have changed licensing rules, creating a need for Arizona-based company adjusters to obtain Arizona licenses without duplicative testing, especially for large employers like State Farm and USAA. The bill was presented as a workaround to preserve reciprocity for existing adjusters, and the committee voted 10-0 to recommend SB 1415 do pass before adjourning.
OK

Oklahoma 2026 Regular Session

Business and Insurance 2ND REVISED Feb 12th, 2026 at 09:30 am

Business and Insurance

Transcript Highlights:
  • consideration the OMES adjusted pay bands that came out and caused this agency to look at how they were compensating
  • They've been operating some on reserves they've been increasing some compensation with reserves.
  • anesthesiologist to consider, and we want to make sure that they Are able to continue to do that and to be compensated
  • This is a workers' comp bill that I've been working on, and I was visiting with some people yesterday
VA
Transcript Highlights:
  • We are calling the meeting of the Commission on Unemployment Compensation to order.
  • And that means that we have strong worker protections.
  • Thank you, Madam Secretary. protections for workers.
  • In Chapter 33 of Title 30, it establishes the Commission on Unemployment Compensation.
  • The fund is primarily These eligible Virginia workers who have lost their jobs.
Summary: The Commission on Unemployment Compensation met with a quorum present, introduced new members and staff, and elected Delegate Destiny LeVere Bolling as chair and Senator Mike Jones as vice chair. The commission also adopted its electronic meeting policy. The Secretary of Labor and Virginia Employment Commission leadership then gave introductory remarks about the labor secretariat, VEC’s role, and the administration’s focus on workforce stability, transparency, and access to services. Staff provided a legislative update on recent unemployment-related bills. Marvie Ali reviewed the commission’s statutory duties and noted that HB 1320 and SB 759 increased the weekly unemployment benefit amount by $48 effective July 1, 2026, following a prior $52 increase in 2025 that together fulfilled the commission’s earlier recommendation to raise benefits by $100. She also summarized HB 1319, which would have set a 26-week maximum duration but was continued to 2027, the budget item providing $75,000 for actuarial support, and SB 433, which changed labor-dispute disqualification rules so certain locked-out workers may receive benefits. Staff also reported that the 2025 work group studying annual benefit adjustments did not complete its work, and members discussed reinstating it at a future meeting. VEC Deputy Commissioner Joanna Darkus presented an extensive overview of the unemployment insurance system, including eligibility rules, tax structure, benefit levels, claims trends, trust fund solvency, fraud prevention, and implementation of recent legislation. She said Virginia’s unemployment rate remains low by historical standards, but claim durations and benefit outflows have increased, and the trust fund balance factor is projected at 50.9%, near the statutory trigger for additional employer charges. Members asked about the taxable wage base, employer tax rates, solvency, staffing during the pandemic, and implementation of paid family and medical leave. Darkus said VEC is using ID.me, improving controls, and preparing for paid family and medical leave through regulations, staffing, IT procurement, public comment, and listening sessions. During public comment, a Virginia Poverty Law Center representative urged the commission to strengthen the UI system through state action, warning that federal funding and oversight are unreliable and arguing that Virginia should invest in benefits, administration, and modernization. The meeting ended with no further business and adjournment.
LA

Louisiana 2026 Regular Session

Appropriations May 26th, 2026

Appropriations

Transcript Highlights:
  • survey, 1,498 educators responded, including teachers, paraprofessionals, bus drivers, cafeteria workers
  • survey, 1,498 educators responded, including teachers, paraprofessionals, bus drivers, cafeteria workers
  • , clerical staff, custodians, nurses, and other school personnel. drivers, cafeteria workers, clerical
  • No bus driver, paraprofessional, cafeteria worker, custodian, clerk, nurse, or teacher should be punished
  • one additional day for the parish board of election supervisors in which a board member may be compensated
TX

Texas 89th Regular

Economic Development May 12th, 2025

Economic Development

Transcript Highlights:
  • Department of Family and Protective Services, Texas Department of Insurance, Texas Department of Workers
  • ' Compensation, and Department of Public Safety.
Summary: The Senate Economic Development Committee met without a quorum, so no votes or formal actions were taken. The chair laid out several bills and resolutions for explanation and public testimony, with each item left pending subject to the call of the chair. Early items included House Bill 1240, a cleanup measure to create a single uniform definition of the Texas-Mexico border region across state law, and House Bill 2768, which would establish an IT apprenticeship credential through junior colleges and technical institutions to help fill state government technology jobs. The committee also heard House Concurrent Resolution 90, which would encourage establishing a Texas trade and investment office in Jerusalem. Testimony on the resolution was sharply divided: one witness opposed it on foreign policy and values grounds, while a Texas Association of Business representative strongly supported it, citing Israel’s innovation and trade potential. Another major item was House Bill 4187, a committee substitute for legislation affecting the Texas Historical Commission; the sponsor described changes expanding use of trust fund money for historic sites, allowing more affiliated nonprofits, clarifying retail operations, and creating a framework for training and consistent interpretation at historic sites. A Texas Historical Commission witness explained that the bill would shift responsibility for maintaining many state-owned historical markers and monuments, including markers on private land, to the commission. Additional measures included House Bill 2788, which would shield Texas Workforce Commission fraud-prevention methods from public information requests; House Bill 5032, directing state agencies to plan for public display of the Texas Declaration of Independence, Texas Constitution, and the Victory or Death letter at the Capitol Complex; House Bill 3146, which would eliminate outdated memoranda-of-understanding requirements for certain State Office of Administrative Hearings arrangements; and House Bill 4815, a cleanup bill modernizing economic development statutes, revising the Made in Texas standard to 51% Texas-origin content, repealing the Governor’s Broadband Development Council, and making other conforming changes. The committee ended by recessing, with members indicating they would likely vote on pending business later when a quorum was available.
TX
Transcript Highlights:
  • ' compensation insurance, and has had the same board qualification requirements since 1991.
  • ' compensation marketplace.
  • Texas Mutual is the state's leading provider of workers' compensation.
  • I can't compensate a subcontractor for delays that I am not compensated for by the owner.
  • Certainly, delay compensation is difficult and expensive to defend.
TX
Transcript Highlights:
  • the rules by which they're going to be interconnected, the costs of that interconnection, the compensation
  • to deny interconnectivity, and it doesn't provide any assurance that DER owners will be fairly compensated
  • And then we can talk about the compensation of it.
  • clarity on... ...how these resources connect to the grid is very important and helpful so that our line workers
  • I have great respect for the people in these professions, but I also equally respect my co-workers who
TX

Texas 89th Regular

Business and Commerce (Part II) Apr 1st, 2025

Business & Commerce

Transcript Highlights:
  • the rules by which they're going to be interconnected, the costs of that interconnection, the compensation
  • the rules in which they're going to be interconnected, the costs of that interconnection, the compensation
  • for the value that they bring to the grid. and Insurance that DER owners will be fairly compensated
  • And then we can talk about the compensation.
  • clarity on how these resources connect to the grid is very important and helpful, so that our line workers
Summary: The Senate Committee on Business and Commerce heard Senate Bill 2021 by Senator Johnson, as substituted, on distributed energy resources (DERs). Johnson said the bill was intended to create a regulatory framework for DERs and virtual power plants, address interconnection and registration issues, and prevent regulatory capture as the industry grows. Testimony was split: Texas Electric Cooperatives asked for clarification so co-ops would not be unintentionally excluded from owning or operating DERs; AECT supported the bill as providing needed rules and customer protections; TABA, Texas Solar and Storage Association, Sierra Club, Texas Solar Energy Society, and several others opposed it or raised concerns that it was too utility-centric, imposed red tape, and could burden homeowners and small businesses with registration and interconnection requirements. Johnson repeatedly said the bill was not meant to stop rooftop solar or backup systems and that he was open to specific redlines and further changes. SB 2021 was left pending after testimony. The committee then took up Senate Bill 2330 by Senator Parker, which would end government payroll deduction for dues to certain public employee organizations, while exempting first responders under Chapters 143 and 147 and making other conforming changes in a committee substitute. Parker argued the bill was about government neutrality, transparency, and employee freedom from coercion, and said organizations can collect dues directly using modern payment methods. Supporters from Texas Public Policy Foundation, Texas Business Coalition, Freedom Foundation, ABC Texas, and Texans for Fiscal Responsibility said taxpayer-funded payroll systems should not be used to collect dues for private organizations, especially ones involved in political activity. Opponents, including ATPE, Texas Classroom Teachers Association, Texas Public Employees Association, and correctional employees, said payroll deduction is a convenient, secure service that helps professional associations and employee groups, and argued the bill would burden teachers and other public employees. Several witnesses and senators focused on the bill’s exemptions and whether it treated teachers differently from first responders. Senator Menendez questioned why some public employees were excluded while others were not, and a Houston police union representative said he moved from opposing to supporting the bill after being told the substitute would preserve meet-and-confer deductions under Chapters 143 and 147. Senator Parker closed by saying the bill was not meant to eliminate associations or payroll deduction entirely, only to remove the state as a middleman. SB 2330 was left pending, and the committee then recessed subject to call.
TX

Texas 89th Regular

Business and Commerce (Part I) Apr 1st, 2025

Business & Commerce

Transcript Highlights:
  • Members, the company is the state's largest writer of workers' compensation insurance and has had the
  • ' compensation marketplace.
  • ' compensation insurance, or holds any financial or management interest in such entities.
  • Texas Mutual is the state's leading provider of workers' compensation.
  • I can't compensate a subcontractor for delays that I am not compensated by the owner.
Summary: The committee first took up pending business and favorably reported several bills without objection or by recorded vote, including SB 783, SB 1238, SB 1706, SB 1791, SB 458, SB 1644, and SB 1810, with some of them also sent to the local and uncontested calendar. The committee then moved into hearings on additional bills. SB 1968, by Senator Schwertner, would update the Real Estate License Act by repealing subagency, requiring written buyer-agent agreements before showings, and clarifying when a formal buyer representation agreement must be signed. Texas Realtors testified in support, saying the bill modernizes agency rules and increases transparency, while a committee substitute corrected drafting issues. SB 2411, the annual update to the Texas Business Organizations Code, was also laid out and left pending after supportive testimony from the Texas Business Law Foundation and drafting committee representatives. The committee also heard SB 2321, which would codify ERCOT’s current practice of notifying TCEQ when backup generation needs enforcement discretion for grid reliability; Sierra Club and a chamber of commerce witness supported it with suggestions for clearer emissions reporting, and the bill was left pending. SB 2077 would broaden eligibility for the Texas Mutual Insurance Company board by narrowing conflict restrictions tied to insurance-related interests; Texas Mutual supported the change and the bill was left pending. SB 1405, a broadband bill, would align state law with FCC standards and streamline Broadband Development Office processes; it was left pending after supportive testimony. SB 1299, protecting nonprofit donor privacy, drew support from privacy advocates and concerns from one witness about transparency for publicly funded nonprofit operations; it was left pending. The committee then heard SB 776, which would bar government construction contracts from shifting delay damages to contractors when delays are caused solely by the public owner. Contractors, surety representatives, and water infrastructure advocates supported the bill, arguing it would improve fairness and reduce inflated bids, while water utilities and critical infrastructure entities opposed it, warning of more litigation and higher costs; the bill was left pending. Finally, SB 715, which would apply reliability requirements retroactively to all generation resources in ERCOT, drew opposition from renewable and storage groups and support from some critics of renewable subsidies, with witnesses split over whether it would improve reliability or raise costs; testimony was underway when the transcript ended.
FL

Florida 2026 Regular Session

Banking and Insurance Feb 11th, 2026

Banking and Insurance

Summary: The Banking and Insurance Committee met with a quorum present and temporarily postponed SB 7042 on legal tender and SB 1380 before taking up the remaining agenda. The committee first reported favorably C.S. for SB 326, which modernizes Florida’s curator statute in probate law by clarifying when curators may be appointed, what they may do, and what oversight applies. It then reported favorably SB 1256, which standardizes PBM pharmacy audits by requiring uniform audit standards, scope, frequency, penalties, and due process protections for pharmacies; testimony from pharmacists emphasized concerns about conflicts of interest, excessive audits, and disproportionate penalties, while preserving fraud investigations. The committee also reported favorably C.S. for SB 598 on funeral and cemetery services after adopting an amendment that removed provisions on civil damages caps and phasing out direct disposers; the bill updates licensure and contract rules and addresses unclaimed remains. SB 632, which sets insurance requirements for transportation network companies during the period after a ride is accepted but before pickup, was reported favorably despite opposition from an attorney who argued the existing coverage framework should not be reduced. C.S. for SB 786, creating a nonjudicial process to close out undisputed trusts and discharge trustees, was also reported favorably. The committee then took up SB 1110, a major bill expanding Medicaid and private insurance coverage for medically necessary orthotics and prosthetics, including activity limbs, and requiring annual reporting. After adopting an amendment clarifying eligible recipients, the committee heard extensive emotional testimony from amputees, parents, and advocates describing the medical, developmental, and financial importance of prosthetic coverage, and members spoke in strong support before the bill was reported favorably. Later, the committee considered SB 1588, which implements last session’s legal tender law by refining definitions, narrowing custodian provisions, eliminating unnecessary examination requirements, and repealing the sunset clause; members raised questions about verification and anti-money-laundering concerns, but the bill was reported favorably. Finally, the committee approved SPB 7044 as a committee bill to expand public records exemptions to records relating to newly regulated custodians of gold and silver. The meeting concluded with senators recording additional affirmative votes on selected bills and adjourning.
FL

Florida 2026 Regular Session

Appropriations Jan 14th, 2026

Appropriations

Transcript Highlights:
  • Members, Senate Bill 7010 is the Roth Contribution Plan deferred compensation program.
  • Federal tax law allows deferred compensation plans to offer both pre-tax contributions and post-tax Roth
  • Current state law limits the state and local administrative deferred compensation plans to only a pre-tax
  • governmental entities for local plans to allow post-tax contribution and their prospective deferred compensation
Bills: S7010
Summary: The Senate Committee on Appropriations met to take up SB 7010 by Senator Mayfield, which would authorize Roth post-tax contribution options in state and local deferred compensation plans. The bill was briefly explained, received one appearance in support, had no debate, and was reported favorably by roll call vote. The committee then heard a lengthy presentation from the Governor’s Office of Policy and Budget on the governor’s recommended $117.4 billion “Floridians’ First Budget.” The presentation highlighted major spending areas including education, health care, public safety, transportation, environmental restoration, and economic development. Key proposals included increased FEFP funding for K-12 schools, teacher salary funding, higher education support, Everglades and water quality funding, emergency preparedness reserves, corrections staffing and pay increases, law enforcement recruitment bonuses, cybersecurity, and affordable housing and infrastructure investments. Members asked extensive questions about property tax reserve planning, litigation funding, emergency response fund balances and expenditures, the use of federal reimbursement for the Everglades detention facilities, the animal abuse hotline, Hope Florida, corrections staffing, and the proposed reduction in ADAP eligibility for HIV/AIDS medication assistance. A member of the public also testified at length about concerns that the ADAP changes would harm access to life-saving medications and alleged improper shifting of program funds. Committee members and the presenter acknowledged follow-up questions on several items, but no additional votes or formal actions were taken beyond the favorable report on SB 7010 and adjournment.
TX

Texas 89th Regular

Border Security Apr 15th, 2025

Border Security

Transcript Highlights:
  • As you may recall, the Landowner's Compensation Program was established by Senate Bill 1133 last session
  • Instead, a lessee can file the claim, but compensation goes to the landowner.
  • The lessee may never see the compensation necessary to fix the damage.
  • Instead, a lessee can file the claim, but compensation goes to the landowner.
  • The lessee may never see the compensation necessary to fix the damage.
Bills: SB2601
Summary: The Senate Committee on Border Security met with a quorum and heard only one bill, Senate Bill 2601 by Senator Blanco, laid out by Senator Hinojosa of Hidalgo. The bill was presented as a committee substitute to revise the Landowner’s Compensation Program created last session under SB 1133. The changes would expand eligibility to include land lessees with the landowner’s permission, cover damage to the land itself as well as structures and real property, add continuous smuggling of persons as a qualifying border crime, prohibit insurers from using claims under the program in rate calculations, and require law enforcement to provide requested border crime reports to the Attorney General within 14 days. Public testimony was unanimously supportive. Charles Maley of the South Texans Property Rights Association said the program has been beneficial and that the bill helps clean up implementation issues, including clarifying compensation for debris and pollutants left on land. Stephen Diebel of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association also supported the bill, saying it would help address fence damage, destroyed infrastructure, and other harms along the border, and that lessees who manage properties day to day should be eligible for direct compensation when they have the landowner’s permission. Members discussed border-related property damage, including vehicles crashing through fences, broken sheds, livestock escaping, and resulting highway hazards. Senator Hinojosa asked about how conflicts between landowners and lessees would be handled, and testimony indicated documentation of lease authority would be required. After public testimony closed, the committee adopted the committee substitute without objection and voted to report SB 2601 favorably to the full Senate by a 5-0 vote, recommending it as local and uncontested.