Transcript Highlights:

• So in terms of discretion, we do have a structured decision-making tool.
• But that would be a way that we could say, why didn't your tools work for you?
• So what tools have you learned since that time that you didn't have then that are being helpful to you
• I had to go in there four times to prove to him that I understand how to use my tools.
• I had to go in there four times to prove to him that I understand how to use my tools.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Rules Committee met to consider several governor’s appointments, committee referrals, and a budget rule waiver. The committee approved Jim Cervantes and Martin Motto to the California Housing Finance Agency Board of Directors unanimously, and also approved Larry Schingold to the State Mining and Geology Board unanimously. Preston Prince and Stephanie Landergan were approved on 3-2 votes. The committee also approved a Budget and Fiscal Committee request to suspend JR61B10 so budget subcommittees 1 through 5 could meet during the blackout period on May 28. The committee then heard testimony from five appointees to the Board of Parole Hearings: William Munis, Michael Ruff, Rosalind Sergeant Burns, Mary Thornton, and Jack Weiss. Senators focused heavily on recent controversial parole decisions involving child sexual abuse cases, asking how commissioners weigh current risk, what discretion they have, how they use risk assessments and coping plans, and whether parole-board votes in en banc review should be made public. The commissioners repeatedly said they must follow the law, rely on structured, evidence-based assessments, and evaluate current unreasonable risk rather than the original offense alone. They also discussed recidivism data, reconsideration hearings, use of medical-assisted treatment records, and the role of age, time served, institutional behavior, parole plans, and community support. A major portion of the hearing centered on respect for victims and public confidence in the parole process. Commissioners described training and practices for handling victim participation, protecting privacy, and conducting hearings professionally. Senators expressed concern that some commissioners were too deferential to process and not sufficiently accountable in their own judgment, while others emphasized the need for transparency and the importance of the board’s quasi-judicial deliberations. Public commenters largely supported the confirmations, though one witness raised concerns about professionalism and questioning style, particularly regarding Commissioner Weiss. The hearing concluded with public testimony in support of the appointees.

Transcript Highlights:

• The adverse event reporting program can be a vital tool for health care facilities to incorporate into
• So the question, as you know, is whether certificate of need is one tool or opportunity for us to really
• look at what I think is going to be... ...one tool or opportunity for us to really look at what I think
• So this is really about moving forward, about one tool in our box to look at access, affordability, and
• So we now have an ecosystem of tools and resources that the community of several thousand individuals

Summary: The committee heard a JLARC presentation on the Department of Health’s oversight of hospital inspections, complaints, and reporting. JLARC said DOH was late on 72% of acute care hospital inspections as of December 2024, had not verified that third-party accrediting standards were substantially equivalent to state standards, did not consistently require proof of those inspections, did not review adverse health event corrective plans, and could make hospital data more accessible. JLARC also raised a possible language-access barrier in the complaint system. Members asked about complaint filing by staff, the meaning of adverse health events, inspection outcomes, and whether the audit compared DOH to other agencies. JLARC said it had not reviewed inspection results or cross-agency comparisons, but noted inspectors were dedicated and working long hours. DOH later said it concurred with the recommendations and outlined a strategic plan with target dates for improving timeliness, verifying accreditation standards, expanding language access, reviewing adverse event laws, and improving public data access, with annual reporting to the Legislature expected. The committee then heard a Department of Health presentation on certificate of need modernization. DOH described the current certificate of need process, which reviews need, financial feasibility, quality, and cost containment for certain facility changes and new services, and said the program has not been modernized since the 1980s. DOH proposed 10 statutory modernization recommendations, including clarifying the program’s purpose, creating a planning entity, adding flexibility, reducing legal costs, updating access-to-care standards, expanding oversight to freestanding emergency departments and urgent care, addressing equity, improving cost control coordination, strengthening long-term funding, and using better data systems. Members asked about oversight of freestanding urgent care and EDs, funding sources, and whether the process could be streamlined or made more responsive to complaints or other triggers. A third panel discussed artificial intelligence in health care. Lucy O’Rourke of the Coalition for Health AI described CHAI’s work on responsible AI principles, technical standards, model cards or “nutrition labels,” testing and governance tools, and educational resources for providers. She said the group is focused on trust, transparency, fairness, safety, security, and privacy, and noted Washington’s AI-related policy work as among the more progressive in the country. No questions were asked. The final portion focused on the financial impact of federal and state health care policy changes. The Washington State Hospital Association said hospitals are facing low or negative operating margins, service reductions, layoffs, and closures, and that state cuts and taxes enacted in 2025, combined with federal HR1 changes, will significantly worsen finances. Providence Swedish leaders described staffing reductions, service cuts, delayed capital investments, and pressure from denials, tariffs, and reimbursement changes, while emphasizing that frontline staffing cuts are tied to service reductions rather than nurse-to-patient ratio changes. The Washington Health Benefit Exchange then began a presentation on expiring federal ACA premium tax credits, state Cascade Care Savings assistance, and eligibility changes affecting lawfully present non-citizens, with examples showing large premium increases for customers if federal subsidies expire.

Transcript Highlights:

• The tools... The state of Utah. So we're excited to be working across the state.
• Let me just say one of the reasons that this tool has become quite popular, and we know it has been.
• So we do see this tool as a helpful tool.
• And we also use this in tandem with our other tools, including the Authority Infrastructure Bank.
• We try to use this tool very judiciously.

Keywords: 985, all

Transcript Highlights:

• new program or a new tax, just targeted legislation that provides Midland full access to an existing tool
• Midland needs access to the same tools as other cities, including the ability to support.
• Midland has the vision, demand, and track record, and with the right tools we can continue growing alongside
• HB 2013 will permit Lubbock to access the Project Finance Zone tool provided to six other Texas cities
• To this point, we have not accessed these state-provided financing tools, and we believe that the time

Bills: HB249

Keywords: real property, ad valorem tax, tax appraisal, property value limitation, real estate taxation, property ownership

Transcript Highlights:

• us the most, that ending our engagement in crisis zones, that taking one of our best soft-pack our tools
• International organizations, treaties, and alliances can all be valuable tools for advancing our own
• national interests, but we must never forget that they're just tools and not ends in themselves.
• And I think you've also, I think, correctly identified one of the key tools that we have to counter it
• of our success in the Cold War that presidents from Kennedy to Reagan recognize as critical tools in

Transcript Highlights:

• <03:06:48.960> to<03:06:49.279> protect tool of the administration to protect tool
• And right now, the CCP has a real tool to sidestep these prohibitions. We need action now.
• And another final example would be accessing tools designed for offensive cyber operations.
• <05:29:33.920> I<05:29:34.400> urge this vital soft power tool.
• I urge this vital soft power tool.

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Monday, January 12, 2026, 1012, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• States have the tools they need, and they're making good use of them.
• States have the tools they need and they're utilizing them. Is that correct?
• Huntress confirmed they observed related tooling used in real-world intrusions.
• It's been a very successful validation tool, which is why we want to do this.
• I encourage you to provide the funding and the tools necessary for local control.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:16:00.160> and actually given us some tools and actually given us some tools and hopefully
• Glahn, there are often a wide array of legal actions challenging our use of regulatory tools.
• Glahn, there are often a wide array of legal actions challenging our use of regulatory tools.
• <01:14:40.400> So<01:14:40.560> thank continuous improvement tool.
• So thank continuous improvement tool.

Transcript Highlights:

• critical tool critical tool to<00:04:08.760> support<00:04:09.240> Minnesotan<00:04
• They have some tools to learn that information, but this would be another quite important tool.
• They have some tools to learn that information, but this would be another quite important tool.
• They have some tools to learn that information, but this would be another quite important tool.
• And so I think as these tools progress.

Bills: HF4456, HF4544, HF3698

Keywords: data broker, data brokerage, consumer privacy, personal data, data privacy, Minnesota attorney general, registration, public registry, civil penalties, enforcement, special revenue fund, privacy rights, data sales, data collection, consumer protection, chapter 325M, controller, processor, data broker registry, transparency

Transcript Highlights:

• Madam Chair, I have with me... for giving us uh some tools to help a for giving us uh some tools to help
• Redevelopment doesn't happen overnight, and it certainly doesn't happen without the right tools.
• Redevelopment doesn't happen overnight, and it certainly doesn't happen without the right tools.
• Redevelopment doesn't happen overnight, and it certainly doesn't happen without the right tools.
• Redevelopment doesn't happen overnight, and it certainly doesn't happen without the right tools.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• ...discretion to be able to revoke those credits if need be, because he needs a tool in the toolbox.
• This is just another tool for the commissioner to help that readjustment, to turn the ship a little bit
• <00:19:58.200> I appreciate uh providing you more tools I appreciate uh providing you more
• could be very think having uh this tool could be very helpful<00:20:24.000> um<00:20:24.799><
• <00:20:39.320> to see this as a possible good tool to see this as a possible good tool to

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• It's a marketing tool.
• marketing tool, uh, in fact.
• It's a marketing tool.
• marketing tool.
• It's a marketing tool, yes.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It is one of the best communication tools that schools use to interact with families as well.
• And we're gonna use a tool called Lexia here to try to get them up to 80% accuracy.
• Tools, again, we are compatible with those tools so that they'll be able to read, audibly, what they're
• Now, the automatic translation services, though, are using industry standard tools.
• So those are the tools we use to auto-translate any of the ad hoc communication that's going out.

Transcript Highlights:

• It's a the most powerful tool that a tax writer can use is an exemption. and this homestead exemption
• tax, direct tool, is exemptions.
• So I appreciate your deft use of that one tool.
• But I must remark, it is a good tool. But, Senator Bettencourt says it is the most powerful tool.
• That's our most powerful tool.

Bills: SJR2, SB4, SJR36, SJR2, SB4, SJR1, SJR5, SB9, SB40, SJR2, SB4, SR98, SJR40, SJR41, SJR42, SJR43, SJR44, SJR45, SJR46, SJR47, SCR13, SB6, SB13, SB21, SB826, SB827, SB828, SB829, SB830, SB831, SB832, SB833, SB834, SB835, SB836, SB837, SB838, SB839, SB840, SB841, SB842, SB843, SB844, SB845, SB846, SB847, SB848, SB849, SB850, SB851, SB853, SB854, SB855, SB856, SB857, SB858, SB859, SB860, SB861, SB862, SB863, SB864, SB865, SB866, SB867, SB868, SB869, SB870, SB871, SB872, SB873, SB874, SB875, SB876, SB877, SB878, SB879, SB880, SB881, SB882, SB883, SB884, SB885, SB886, SB887, SB888, SB889, SB890, SB891, SB892, SB893, SB894, SB895, SB896, SB897, SB898, SB899, SB900, SB901, SB902, SB903, SB904, SB905, SB906, SB907, SB908, SB909, SB910, SB911, SB912, SB913, SB914, SB915, SB916, SB917, SB918, SB919, SB920, SB921, SB922, SB923, SB924, SB925, SB926, SB927, SB928, SB929, SB930, SB931, SB932, SB933, SB934, SB935, SB936, SB937, SB938, SB939, SB940, SB941, SB942, SB943, SB944, SB945, SB946, SB947, SB948, SB949, SB950, SB951, SB952, SB953, SB954, SB955, SB956, SB957, SB958, SB959, SB960, SB961, SB962, SB963, SB964, SB965, SB966, SB967, SB968, SB969, SB970, SB971, SB972, SB973, SB974, SB975, SB976, SB977, SB978, SB979, SB980, SB981, SB982, SB983, SB984, SB985, SB986, SB987, SB988, SB989, SB990, SB991, SB992, SB993, SB994, SB995, SB996, SB997, SB998, SB999, SB1000, SJR40, SJR41, SJR42, SJR43, SJR44, SJR45, SJR46, SJR47, SCR13, SB6, SB13, SB21, SB826, SB827, SB828, SB829, SB830, SB831, SB832, SB833, SB834, SB835, SB836, SB837, SB838, SB839, SB840, SB841, SB842, SB843, SB844, SB845, SB846, SB847, SB848, SB849, SB850, SB851, SB853, SB854, SB855, SB856, SB857, SB858, SB859, SB860, SB861, SB862, SB863, SB864, SB865, SB866, SB867, SB868, SB869, SB870, SB871, SB872, SB873, SB874, SB875, SB876, SB877, SB878, SB879, SB880, SB881, SB882, SB883, SB884, SB885, SB886, SB887, SB888, SB889, SB890, SB891, SB892, SB893, SB894, SB895, SB896, SB897, SB898, SB899, SB900, SB901, SB902, SB903, SB904, SB905, SB906, SB907, SB908, SB909, SB910, SB911, SB912, SB913, SB914, SB915, SB916, SB917, SB918, SB919, SB920, SB921, SB922, SB923, SB924, SB925, SB926, SB927, SB928, SB929, SB930, SB931, SB932, SB933, SB934, SB935, SB936, SB937, SB938, SB939, SB940, SB941, SB942, SB943, SB944, SB945, SB946, SB947, SB948, SB949, SB950, SB951, SB952, SB953, SB954, SB955, SB956, SB957, SB958, SB959, SB960, SB961, SB962, SB963, SB964, SB965, SB966, SB967, SB968, SB969, SB970, SB971, SB972, SB973, SB974, SB975, SB976, SB977, SB978, SB979, SB980, SB981, SB982, SB983, SB984, SB985, SB986, SB987, SB988, SB989, SB990, SB991, SB992, SB993, SB994, SB995, SB996, SB997, SB998, SB999, SB1000

Keywords: SJR 2, Senate Joint Resolution 2, constitutional amendment, homestead exemption, property tax relief, school property tax, ad valorem tax, residence homestead, school district taxes, Texas Constitution Article VIII, public school finance, homeowner exemption, elderly exemption, senior tax relief, disabled exemption, tax year 2025, voter approval, November 2025 ballot, local government, Ways & Means

Transcript Highlights:

• So, analytics to detect suspicious patterns, monitoring of various web analytics tools.
• We make continuous investments in technical tools, improve business processes, and monitoring.
• We do have tools in the unemployment insurance law that allow us to levy liens and other kinds of tools
• We do have tools in the unemployment insurance law that allow us to levy liens and other kinds of tools
• I'd have to follow up with exact numbers, but we do use those tools that are at our disposal.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• would deny state agencies the ability to utilize PLAs, which are a market-based project efficiency tool
• We need more housing now, and bringing tools like this to the table is another way our state agencies
• tool in addressing the housing shortage the state is currently experiencing.
• This would be a new tool. I do think that would be quite incentivizing to those communities.
• He described it as a new tool and said it would be quite incentivizing to those communities.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• In today's competitive labor market, it has become an important tool to attract and retain talent.
• In today's competitive labor market has become an important tool to attract and retain talent.
• So we know that is an important tool, but we can only support that if that's in lieu of other things
• EarnIn is building a suite of tools that work together to give choice back to workers.
• Ernie is building a suite of tools that work together to give choice back to workers.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on several financial services bills, with the main focus on cryptocurrency kiosk regulation, financial literacy, and earned wage access. Legislators and witnesses described widespread crypto-related scams targeting older adults, often involving impersonation, urgency, spoofed phone numbers, and rapid transfers through kiosks that are difficult to trace or recover. Supporters of the kiosk bills said Massachusetts needs licensing, registration, transaction limits, warning notices, receipts, refund protections, and other safeguards; some also urged a “pause” or hold on transactions to give victims time to reconsider and allow law enforcement to intervene. The Attorney General’s office, AARP, local law enforcement, and several prosecutors and sheriffs backed the consumer-protection approach, while Bitcoin Depot supported a narrower regulatory framework but opposed low fee caps and strict daily limits, arguing they would function like a ban and reduce legitimate use. Witnesses from Waltham police, Middlesex and Essex County law enforcement, and the AG’s office said crypto scams are growing quickly, losses are often unrecoverable once funds move, and current tools are limited. They described cases involving elderly victims losing thousands of dollars, and said warnings alone are not enough because scammers keep victims on the phone and guide them through the process. Some witnesses said a temporary hold or refund mechanism has worked in at least one case, while others emphasized that transaction limits and visible disclosures could reduce harm even if they do not stop fraud entirely. The AG’s office also said it would submit written opposition to separate earned wage advance legislation, while DailyPay testified in support of that bill, saying earned wage access helps workers bridge short-term gaps without debt or credit reporting. The committee also heard support for mandatory financial literacy education from Representative Jim Hawkins, who said high school students need instruction on credit, debt, and inflation before they enter adulthood. In addition, the committee took testimony on litigation financing bills from insurance industry representatives, who argued for disclosure and regulation of predatory litigation lending and warned about foreign interference and reduced plaintiff recoveries. No votes or final actions were taken during the hearing; members asked questions throughout, and the chair noted the need to move testimony along because of time constraints.

Transcript Highlights:

• This bill ensures employers can't treat pay data reporting as optional and gives CRD the tools it needs
• Data collection is an incredibly important tool that we need to protect all underserved communities.
• Second, the bill restricts post-loss assignment of benefits, which is one of the few tools consumers
• And this is the tool that we have to do that.
• There are existing procedural tools that give courts the ability to strike a meritless claim...

Keywords: 988, house, all

Summary: The committee heard several bills, beginning with SB 99, which would require courts and law enforcement to better recognize military protective orders in domestic violence cases and allow civilian judges to consider those orders when reviewing restraining order requests. Supporters, including the Department of Defense and military-related organizations, said the bill would close jurisdictional gaps that leave military families vulnerable off base. The bill drew no opposition and was approved on a unanimous vote, with members also expressing support for the author’s request to be added as coauthors. Members then heard SB 1237, a pay equity reporting enforcement bill that would increase penalties for repeat noncompliance with California’s employer pay-data reporting requirements. The author and supporters from Power California Action and HOPE argued that stronger penalties are needed because the state is still missing pay data for hundreds of thousands of workers and wage gaps persist, especially for women of color. There was no opposition testimony, but one member voted no; the bill passed to Appropriations and was placed on call. SB 1387 followed, proposing to allow Jewish identity to be reported as an ethnic category in state demographic data collection. Supporters said the change would improve data accuracy and help identify discrimination, while opponents from Jewish Voice for Peace and other Jewish speakers argued the bill was unworkable, unnecessary, and could be harmful or exceptionalizing. The committee approved the bill on a unanimous vote to Privacy. The committee also approved SB 932, which would require assignees filing civil actions to identify the original party in the case caption, after testimony that the change would improve transparency and help courts, the public, and journalists track assigned claims. SB 988, an auto glass industry bill, drew the most extensive debate: the author and the National Insurance Crime Bureau said it would curb fraud, restrict certain assignment-of-benefits practices, and improve consumer safety, while independent glass shops and their associations warned it could restrict consumer choice and favor insurers or large networks. Despite those concerns, the bill passed to Appropriations. SB 1296, requiring landlords to disclose pet policies before collecting application fees, also passed after supporters described the bill as a narrow transparency measure and opponents raised concerns about pet addenda and eviction procedures. Finally, SB 747, the “No Kings Act,” would create a state cause of action for constitutional violations by federal officers; supporters cited abuses by ICE and Border Patrol and the need for accountability, while law enforcement groups warned about uncertainty around qualified immunity and retroactivity. The bill was supported by several members, but the transcript ends before a final committee vote is shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• It is our intent to ensure, to monitor the use of the data through tools where we track how people use
• <00:20:10.120> uh<00:20:10.600> um through uh tools uh um through uh tools uh um uh
• <00:21:25.880> Um tools to prevent that. Um tools to prevent that.
• I think we have agreed that there are things that the state needs for tools and this may be the thing
• I think we have agreed that there are things that the state needs for tools and this may be the thing

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: The committee took up House File 4466, the Health Finance and Policy bill, and first adopted the A8 amendment, described as a set of technical fixes. Members then considered a large A9 amendment that bundled a wide range of Children and Families provisions, including child care licensing modernization, crisis nursery licensing, SNAP/MFIT-related language, child care provider self-reporting, a physical abuse recognition poster, child protection and welfare provisions, funding for parent support outreach, and forensic interview training scholarships. Supporters described it as bipartisan work with relatively small fiscal impact, while opponents said it greatly expanded the bill and should be handled separately; after a roll call, the A9 amendment failed 7-14. Representative Scott then offered the A11 amendment, raising concerns about new all-payer claims database language and whether it should have been heard in the Judiciary and Civil Law Committee. Department of Health staff explained the data-sharing safeguards, de-identification process, fee structure, and enforcement provisions, but Scott remained concerned about privacy and the scope of the program and withdrew the amendment. The committee then moved to final bill discussion. Members and authors described HF 4466 as a lean health finance bill largely conforming Minnesota law to federal HR1 Medicaid-related changes, including work requirements, retroactive eligibility limits, cost-sharing, and home equity provisions. Supporters argued conformity was necessary to avoid major federal funding losses and noted a few additional member bills in the package; opponents criticized the federal changes as harmful, especially for vulnerable populations such as victims of trafficking and domestic violence. Fiscal staff said the bill would save just over $2 million in FY 2026-27 and almost $98 million in FY 2028-29. No final vote on the bill itself was taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• funding for community-based services, but not institutional services, Congress created a powerful tool
• So the tool that CMS has used to waive...
• So the tool that CMS has used to waive the IMD exclusion is Section 1115 of the Medicaid Act.
• So at a very minimum, providers must have the tools to be able to provide services via telehealth, and
• So at a very minimum, providers must have the tools to be able to provide services via telehealth, and

Summary: The meeting focused heavily on behavioral health and substance use treatment, especially the IMD exclusion and whether North Dakota should pursue a Section 1115 waiver to allow Medicaid reimbursement for services in institutions for mental diseases for adults ages 21 to 64. Turtle Mountain representatives described major local needs, including limited access to care, high syphilis rates, and the importance of timely public health data. They also discussed the tribe’s recovery center, which opened the prior year, now operating five levels of care with 16 beds, and the desire to expand capacity, possibly through an IMD waiver or related policy changes. Committee members also raised related issues such as rural health transformation funding, telehealth, workforce retention, and the need for better coordination between tribal and state public health systems. A central issue was Turtle Mountain Public Health’s long-running effort to secure a data use agreement with the state so it can receive surveillance data and respond directly to infectious disease cases among tribal members. Speakers said the tribe had a successful COVID-era agreement that allowed faster contact tracing and case management, but that agreement ended with the pandemic. They argued that current delays in sharing data, especially for sexually transmitted infections, leave the tribe unable to respond quickly, while the state and county epidemiology workload is too distant and stretched to be effective. Committee members expressed support and said they would look into the issue, noting that other tribes have secured similar agreements. The committee also heard a detailed presentation from the National Health Law Program on the IMD exclusion. The presenter explained that federal Medicaid law generally bars payment for care in facilities with more than 16 beds, but that states can use other tools such as state plan amendments, managed care arrangements, telehealth, and community-based services. He said IMD waivers are administratively complex, time-limited, and have shown mixed results in other states, with some gains in residential treatment access but limited evidence of improved overdose outcomes or stronger community-based care. He urged the committee to consider broader continuum-of-care solutions and cautioned that waivers alone are not a cure-all. No final vote was taken on the bill draft during the portion shown, but the committee discussed the proposal to appropriate $49,000 and one FTE to HHS to pursue an IMD waiver and report back in the next interim. Members also debated the policy rationale for the 16-bed limit, the role of the state versus tribal sovereignty, and whether the bill should move through the Health Care or Human Services committee in the future.