Transcript Highlights:

• That's why they need the training.
• That's why they need the training. That's why the personnel in schools need the training.
• So I urge you to think about training, to think about access, at a time... ...to think about training
• In one state, California, it's mandatory for schools to offer the training. Training every year.
• to 80% after the training. 85% of students rated naloxone After the training, 85% of students rated

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Education

Summary: The Joint Committee on Education held a public hearing on a large slate of bills, with the chairs emphasizing time limits, written testimony, and grouping similar measures together. Early testimony focused on opioid use disorder education in schools (S.382), with Senator Keenan arguing that students should be taught about the risks of substance use disorder and naloxone use as part of health curricula. Representative DeCost also briefly introduced H.551, a narrow bill concerning parent rights for children in third grade and younger. Several bills were then closed without testimony, including measures on type 1 diabetes informational materials and other diabetes-related proposals. A major portion of the hearing centered on school health and emergency response bills. Supporters of H.652/S.342 on diabetes management in schools described inconsistent district practices and urged clearer standards so students can receive care in classrooms rather than being sent out of instruction. Bills on epinephrine access and seizure disorders drew extensive testimony: advocates for stock epinephrine in schools argued that unassigned epinephrine can save lives and should be funded in a cost-neutral way, while a pediatrician opposed one version as an unfunded mandate. For seizure-safe schools (S.422/H.635), students, parents, educators, and advocates described missed or delayed responses to seizures, stigma, and the need for staff training, seizure action plans, and emergency medication protocols. A separate bill, H.645, allowing anti-seizure medication on school buses, was supported by a parent and student who said current law forces costly and restrictive transportation arrangements. The committee also heard testimony on youth skin health bills (S.334/H.600/H.619), which would let students carry and apply sunscreen at school and camp without a physician’s note. Supporters from melanoma prevention, dermatology, and industry groups said the bills would remove unnecessary barriers and promote sun-safe habits, while one witness cautioned about drafting details and unintended consequences. The hearing then moved to CPR/AED education for graduation (S.456), where Senator Tarr, a student advocate, and the Red Cross all supported requiring hands-on CPR certification for high school students. Finally, the committee took testimony on healthy school lunches (H.539/S.401): supporters from the Healthy School Lunch Coalition and school food directors backed stronger nutrition standards and a standing advisory council, while Consumer Brands Association witnesses opposed the bill as too vague and potentially disruptive. A nutrition scientist also warned about unintended restrictions on medically necessary or innovative foods. The chairs closed the hearing on the healthy lunch bills and then opened testimony on universal school meals for virtual schools (H.700), with Superintendent Patrick Latuka supporting access for students in Commonwealth virtual schools who currently receive no meal support.

Transcript Highlights:

• This will allow our training staff to develop training scenarios and obtain any appropriate training
• training.
• And they've had no training, no formalized training.
• Training for all of our personnel. And finalize our training program for licensing.
• Let's see, provide professional training for our enforcement training.

Committee: House Public Safety

Transcript Highlights:

• training to do so.
• In the post-training itself, can you describe what aspects of that training?
• , active intruder training, ALICE intruder training three times a year.
• of training, do people fail the training?
• These adults go through rigorous training. They go through professional training.

Committee: House General Laws

Summary: The Committee on General Laws met with a quorum and first went into executive session on House Bill 2774, the Jeff Knight bill concerning gas-powered leaf blowers. An amendment was adopted to exempt the city of Clayton, Missouri, allowing it to ban gas-powered leaf blowers if it chooses. The committee then rolled the amendment into a House Committee Substitute and voted the substitute do pass by 12 yeas and 0 nays. The committee next took up House Bill 2176 by Representative Perkins and voted it do pass by 8 yeas and 4 nays. After that, the committee held a public hearing on House Bill 1730, sponsored by Representative Koslow, which would treat Missouri-made firearm suppressors that remain in-state as outside federal Commerce Clause oversight. The sponsor and supporters argued the bill would protect hearing, reduce federal burdens, and not increase crime; members raised concerns about concealment and public safety, but no opposition testimony was offered and the hearing closed. The final public hearing was on House Bill 2504 by Representative Elliott, which would expand who may be designated as school protection officers to include additional school personnel, such as classified staff, if they volunteer, complete required training, and are approved through local school board and state processes. Supporters, including a school superintendent, security trainer, law enforcement officer, and public advocate, said the bill would improve response times in rural districts that cannot afford school resource officers and emphasized the extensive training and vetting already required. Opponents or skeptical members questioned whether adding more armed personnel in schools was the right response to school violence, but no formal opposition testimony was presented before the committee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• training to do so.
• In the post-training itself, can you describe what aspects of that training?
• , active intruder training, ALICE intruder training three times a year.
• of training, do people fail the training?
• These adults go through rigorous training. They go through professional training.

Committee: House General Laws

Transcript Highlights:

• We can train our staff and train the student to do this job.
• we can train our staff and train the student to do this job we train them every year like we normally
• We can train our staff and train the student to do this job.
• I just think this is a long-overdue training so that everyone has the same training across the board
• I believe police training saves lives, and that’s why I’m here to support the police training bill.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security

Summary: The hearing focused on a range of public safety bills, with especially emotional testimony on the Maggie Hubbard Rental Safety Act, which would require short-term rentals to be inspected for smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and require platforms or agents to verify compliance before listing. Rep. Hadley Luddy, Sen. Julian Cyr, and the Hubbard and Waldron families described the fatal Airbnb fire that killed Shannon Hubbard and her daughter Maggie in New York, saying the deaths were preventable and that the bill would save lives. Committee members expressed sympathy and support for the families’ efforts to turn their loss into legislation. The committee also heard testimony on a proposed peace officer oath (S. 1680), described by Sen. Lydia Edwards as a binding ethical standard tied to certification and recertification, with discipline and annual reporting to promote accountability and de-escalation. Rep. Tom Walsh testified for a bill requiring hotel and motel workers to be trained to recognize human trafficking and to post hotline signage, and later testimony supported a school safety data grant program to provide first responders with standardized, up-to-date school maps for emergencies. Another major topic was a bill to allow temporary door-locking devices in public buildings; supporters said the devices are removable, do not alter fire code, and could improve lockdown response during active shooter events. Additional bills discussed included measures to transfer the Office of Emergency Medical Services to EOPSS, increase penalties for unlicensed hood-system cleaning, expand membership on the Massachusetts Fire Training Council, and strengthen confidentiality for peer support and critical incident stress debriefings. Firefighters and fire chiefs also supported a bill to tighten penalties for violations of hot-work regulations, citing the 2014 Beacon Street fire that killed Lt. Walsh and Firefighter Kennedy. Law enforcement groups backed a package including a Blue Star plate and Blue Alert system for fallen officers’ families, stronger move-over penalties, and a memorial fund, while the State Police Association supported the move-over provisions but asked for further work on the special state police officer bill before final action. No votes were taken during the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• This is why training is critically important right now, and this is why training cannot be denied, and
• We're strong proponents of training; we have no problems with training at all.
• that the necessary third-party training infrastructure exists before we prohibit current training providers
• from providing the additional training.
• I trust the trained therapists.

Committee: House Business and Professions

Transcript Highlights:

• Nurses are trained to do... ...their thing. Physicians are trained to do their thing.
• Let me just add the question about the training of the ophthalmologists. How much training?
• How much training?
• About the training of the ophthalmologists, how much training in your optometry training did you have
• training?

Committee: House Professional Registration and Licensing

Summary: The committee first took up House Bill 3111, which concerns bail bonds oversight. Representative Phelps offered a committee substitute that moved bail bondsmen into the existing Board of Private Investigators, Private Fire Investigators, and Professional Surety Bail Bonds to avoid a fiscal note. An amendment was adopted to remove fee caps in the substitute, and the committee then adopted the revised substitute and voted it do pass 21-0. The committee then heard Senate Substitute No. 2 for Senate Bill 1233, the CPA licensure bill, along with related provisions for social work supervisors and speech pathologists. Senator Trent and supporters from the Missouri Society of CPAs, the speech-language association, the social work community, and the State Auditor’s Office said the bill would address CPA shortages by creating a new licensure path based more on experience, while preserving exam standards and adding reciprocity. No opposition was offered, and the hearing concluded without a vote. House Bill 2999 on optometry scope of practice drew extensive testimony and debate. The sponsor and ophthalmology witnesses described the bill as a negotiated compromise that would codify specific procedures optometrists may perform, while opponents from optometry argued it would freeze scope in statute, limit modernization, and require repeated legislative action as standards change. Witnesses disagreed sharply over whether the bill improved patient safety and access, whether the procedures were already within current practice, and whether surgical procedures such as lasers should be included. The bill was heard but no committee action was taken in the transcript. Finally, the committee heard House Bill 2957 on respiratory therapist licensure. Representative Castile and respiratory care witnesses said the bill would phase out the CRT as the entry credential for new applicants in favor of the higher RRT standard, while grandfathering current CRTs and adding renewal audits to confirm active credentials. Supporters said the change reflects current training standards and would raise patient-care quality without reducing workforce numbers. No opposition testimony was presented, and the hearing adjourned without a vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• the FBI background checks. 400 training programs from around the state provide the approved 75 training
• having the training programs administer the skills and knowledge tests.
• in implementing testing into their 119 training programs across the state.
• The training partnership is working to... ...their 119 training programs across the state.
• doing testing within training programs.

Summary: The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee heard a State Auditor’s Office performance audit on the Restoring Quality Home Care Initiative (I-1163), which created home care aide certification requirements, FBI background checks, and an abuse/neglect registry. Auditors said some requirements likely improve safety, especially background checks and training, but the state lacked pre-2011 data to measure outcomes directly. They also found Washington has a long-term care workforce shortage, though its workforce supply ranks better than many states, and that more stringent entry requirements do not appear to reduce workforce participation compared with other states. The audit’s main concern was that the certification process is slow and burdensome. Auditors reported that most applicants never finish certification, that only about one-third of fiscal year 2025 applicants were certified within the 200-day legal deadline, and that the average time to certification was 463 days. They identified delays between training and testing, limited testing access in some areas, and redundant Department of Health verification of FBI background checks as key causes. The audit recommended streamlining the process by accepting applications later in the process, expanding testing within training programs, and eliminating the redundant background-check verification. Department of Health and Department of Social and Health Services staff largely agreed with the audit’s findings and recommendations. They said they have already made improvements, including moving exams into more than 110 training programs, increasing credentialing staff, and reducing barriers through rule changes. DSHS noted testing is offered in 13 languages. Committee members asked about testing contract incentives, language access, and whether the agencies would seek statutory or budget changes to implement the recommendations. No public testimony was offered, and the meeting adjourned without any vote or formal action by the committee.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:01:47.360><c> requirements</c> standards proper training requirements standards proper training
• </c><00:02:14.560><c> provider</c> nationally recognized training provider nationally recognized training
• </c> anies Joe had 15 minutes of training anies Joe had 15 minutes of training that<00:30:10.360><c>
• </c> through 7 to 8 hours of online training through 7 to 8 hours of online training pass<00:34:54.480
• </c> health Brady didn't have any training health Brady didn't have any training Joe<00:35:41.760><c>

Committee: Senate Labor

Transcript Highlights:

• From classroom teachers who've been trained: This series of trainings was transformative for me as an
• Many states require training for teachers of advanced students.
• I used my training for advocacy, education pedagogy.
• We need educator training.
• This suggests trainings are effective.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Education

Summary: The Joint Committee on Education held its 13th hearing, chaired by Senator Jason Lewis and Representative Gordon, and heard testimony on a large slate of bills covering personnel and miscellaneous education issues. The first major topic was House Bill 711 and Senate Bill 327, the “So All Students Thrive” proposal, which would change reduction-in-force rules so districts could consider teacher effectiveness, student impact, staffing needs, and diversity-related factors alongside seniority. Supporters from Educators for Excellence, including teachers and a former school committee chair, argued that current seniority-based layoff rules can push out effective early-career educators and harm efforts to build a more diverse workforce. Committee members raised questions about tenure, union involvement, and how the bill would interact with the Educator Diversity Act and local contract negotiations; members generally said they shared the goal of diversifying the educator workforce and encouraged continued collaboration and feedback. The committee then heard testimony on House Bill 658, which would require educator training on gifted and advanced learners. Parents, teachers, researchers, and advocates said Massachusetts lacks required preservice or professional development on gifted education, leaving many advanced students unchallenged and underserved. Witnesses described students who are bored, under-identified, or even discouraged in school, and argued that training would help teachers recognize and support gifted students, including students of color, multilingual learners, low-income students, and students with disabilities. Testimony also supported related prior bills on advanced learners and emphasized that the state should act on a 2019 DESE report recommending such training. The committee also heard testimony on House Bill 736 and Senate Bill 435, which would establish de-escalation training for school transportation. The Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council said the measure would improve safety for students and bus operators, fill a gap in current school bus driver certification requirements, and better support students with disabilities. Finally, the committee heard House Bill 4720, concerning the Athol-Royalston Regional School District’s state bailout-related reserve requirements; the superintendent said the district has long maintained fiscal stability but is still forced to leave over half a million dollars unspent each year, limiting resources for a high-poverty student population. After testimony concluded, the chairs read the full list of bills on the agenda, thanked the committee and staff, and the hearing was adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• But do you learn diagnostic techniques or training? Are you trained in diagnostics?
• Family medicine training is three years of training in a hospital along with some didactics.
• What I'm trained to do, right?
• Life to just... and also, another thing you say you train, you train... I have practitioners.
• In the medical training model, it's a much more robust preparation and training.

Bills: HB35 , HB4490 , HB4454 , HB2188 , HB3078 , HB4743 , HB2556 , HB46 , HB5342 , HB4783 , HB3785 , HB5278 , HB1639 , HB2581 , HB4224 , HB4070 , HB4099 , HB4882 , HB3794 , HB46

Committee: House Public Health

Keywords: peer support, first responders, mental health, confidentiality, emergency services, disclosure, next of kin, public information, deceased persons, privacy rights, patient solicitation, marketing practices, healthcare regulation, task force, deceptive advertising, nurse aide, certification, Texas Board of Nursing, healthcare workforce, nursing standards

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> the Connor's Climb training? the Connor's Climb training?
• like restraint and seclusion training, like EpiPen training, like Section 504 training, like homeless
• EpiPen training, like training, like EpiPen training, like section<01:57:09.440><c> 4</c><01:57:09.920
• 4.504 training, like homeless liaison training, like student liaison training, like student discipline
• </c> the training is what's causing this. the training is what's causing this.

Committee: Senate Education

Transcript Highlights:

• Not trained. They were not trained not to put people in that type of restraint.
• So they were specifically—they went against what we trained them to do in the CPI training.
• Have you taken the restraint and the training classes that these HDCs take? “Training classes?
• But talking about the training, it cost $2,000 to train one CNA at an HDC.
• So these training and everything that they're... ...the training they were put on the floor.

Transcript Highlights:

• The training itself is some phenomenal training.
• And the training piece.
• Or lack of training.
• We are training coaches. We will train your coaches. Roswell, unbelievable.
• You know, there, there's more training and there's just as good a training in other areas that needs

Transcript Highlights:

• </c><00:04:39.639><c> and</c> entirety of policy work training and entirety of policy work training and
• </c> 13 policies conducted numerous trainings 13 policies conducted numerous trainings annually<00:04
• </c> allowed them to expand the training allowed them to expand the training offered<00:22:03.120><c>
• Recently, OGM worked with DHS in 2023 to customize and refresh this training to support two training
• </c> of those Frameworks is there a training of those Frameworks is there a training or<00:29:15.279>

Committee: House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• Not trained? They were not. They were trained not to put people in that type of restraint.
• So they were specifically, they went against what we trained them to do in the CPI training.
• Staff did not respond as trained.
• But talking about the training, it cost $2,000 to train one CNA at an HDC.
• They're not being trained.

Summary: The Joint State Agencies committee met to approve prior minutes and then focused on the death of Zachary Moore at the Southeast Arkansas Human Development Center, later clarified in discussion as the Warren facility. DHS officials described Moore’s background, said he died after a prolonged prone restraint followed by a delayed chemical restraint, and reported that 13 staff were terminated, the superintendent was replaced, a consultant was brought in, and the agency entered a settlement with the family for $725,000. Members pressed DHS on the cause of death, restraint policies, staff training, supervision, family notification, and why the family had not been kept informed; DHS said a family-notification procedure exists but that communications during litigation had been handled through counsel. The committee also heard that six staff had been criminally charged with manslaughter and neglect of a vulnerable person, and that the death certificate listed the manner of death as homicide with cause of death tied to physiologic stress associated with struggle and prone restraint. DHS officials gave broader context on the five human development centers, their licensing and accreditation, resident population, mortality review process, and training programs. They said the centers serve highly medically and behaviorally complex residents, that annual restraint training and CPI-based instruction are required, and that the mortality review committee and Office of Long-Term Care review deaths and make recommendations. Members repeatedly criticized the agency for not having complete information at the meeting and for what they saw as gaps in oversight, staffing, and chain-of-command clarity during emergencies. DHS responded that the Warren facility had not been meeting the same standards as the others, that the consultant’s root-cause analysis identified multiple failures, and that new crisis-team and chain-of-command procedures were being drafted. A second major topic was staffing and recruitment. Members discussed low pay, turnover, use of float and on-call staff, rural staffing shortages, and a waiting list of about 2,000 people for home- and community-based services. DHS said CNAs at the centers start at about $39,000 a year, that a broader retention and recruitment plan is being drafted for all five centers, and that a separate rate study for PASS services will be implemented in January 2027 but does not cover CNA pay. The meeting ended with testimony from Moore’s mother, Angela Stevens, who said money could not replace her son and urged stronger training, background checks, and supervision so other residents would be protected. The committee asked DHS to keep members and Stevens updated on consultant reports, recruitment efforts, and follow-up on the family communication issue, and then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• and Training.
• Is there a separate training for those folks? Yes, ma'am.
• Do you guys have any interaction as far as training and training standards, or can you do anything with
• than a standard law enforcement training?
• We have a standalone training for student resource officers.

Committee: All ALC-OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING REVIEW SUBCOMMITTEE

Summary: The committee first reviewed the Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality’s asbestos abatement program. DEQ explained that it licenses asbestos-related workers and businesses under federal and state law, including contractors, workers, inspectors, planners, designers, consultants, air monitors, and training providers. Members asked about the continued presence of asbestos in modern products, the status of the program’s grant fund, and why program expenses were expected to rise; DEQ said grants have not been issued in more than six years because revenues have not left a surplus, and the higher expenses reflect a reallocation of inspector salaries to the fund that supports the program. DEQ also described complaint-driven inspections, enforcement tools such as civil penalties and notices of violation, and the health risks of exposure, including asbestosis and mesothelioma. The report was accepted without objection. The committee then heard from the Arkansas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training. The commission outlined its standards, compliance, decertification, basic academy, advanced training, and jail standards functions, and said it operates three basic academies in Camden, Benton-Bryant, and Springdale. Members asked about recruitment and retention, academy capacity, training hours, and costs to local agencies; the commission said attendance costs counties nothing because the state funds the academies, and that basic training is being expanded to 705 hours with a greater emphasis on practical instruction. The commission also described separate training for detention officers and school resource officers, and said law enforcement divisions in other agencies, such as the Department of Agriculture, are held to the same standards. It noted that most academy attendance requires agency hiring first, though a veterans-to-law-enforcement program allows some veterans to attend on their own and later seek employment. This report also was accepted without objection.

Transcript Highlights:

• trained.
• trained.
• There's different trainings.
• And again, regardless of who has the training to, or who gets trained...
• field training.

Committee: House Special Committee on Urban Issues

Transcript Highlights:

• to them—continuing education training—that... ...continuing education training that allows them to be
• We hold the training for that.
• So when we talk about training and TA, we talk about different levels of training and TA.
• So we are in that training process.
• , 2026 training deadline.

Committee: Senate Children, Families, and Elder Affairs

Summary: The committee held a panel discussion on Florida’s domestic violence system, focusing on how state and federally funded services are coordinated, the role of the Florida Partnership to End Domestic Violence (FPEDV), the Florida Domestic Violence Collaborative, DCF, and certified domestic violence centers. Members reviewed the post-2020 restructuring after the dissolution of FCADV, the current hotline, legal services, training, and technical assistance contracts, and the Legislature’s recent work on lethality assessments under SB 1224. Panelists also described prevention, shelter, counseling, child advocacy, and legal support services, along with the statewide network of 41 certified centers serving all 67 counties. Testimony highlighted both collaboration and tension. FPEDV and Women in Distress described overlapping training and technical assistance roles, but FPEDV said its relationship with DCF has been difficult and at times obstructive, while DCF said communication and coordination are ongoing. Women in Distress and other providers emphasized the importance of direct services, the statewide hotline, injunction assistance, child welfare co-located advocates, and prevention programs. Several members asked about funding flows, certification, and whether the current structure is sufficient for rural counties; witnesses said federal FVPSA funds are formula-based, DCF contracts directly with centers, and rural programs face staffing and fundraising challenges that limit beds and services. A major portion of the discussion centered on the lethality assessment work group and implementation of the new statewide tool. FDLE explained that the work group concluded the Maryland model was copyrighted and costly to replicate exactly, so Florida adopted a statutory assessment that is not evidence-based in the same way, with training available online and 46 of about 400 law enforcement agencies having completed it so far. Senators raised concerns about multiple assessments, redacted police reports, and whether the tool will be useful without better coordination and data collection. Witnesses also discussed rising domestic violence, teen dating violence, and strangulation cases, with providers reporting increased demand, full shelters, and greater use of hotels and mobile crisis responses. No formal votes or actions were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> continuing and improving the training continuing and improving the training available<00:03:59.200
• the initial forensics um the training the initial training<00:28:07.120><c> was</c><00:28:07.279><c>
• remote</c><00:28:25.000><c> training</c><00:28:25.399><c> so</c> convert those into remote training so
• </c> that is incorporated into our training that is incorporated into our training for<00:29:54.679><
• </c> cabinet improved Staffing and training cabinet improved Staffing and training have<00:42:14.599>

Summary: The subcommittee met to discuss the guardian ad litem system, including appointment qualifications, training, payment, and whether any changes are needed. Roll was called, the February 25, 2025 minutes were approved, and the chair emphasized that the meeting was informational only and no vote would be taken. Representatives from the Court of Justice, including Chief Justice Deborah Henry Lambert and several family and district judges, testified about how the system has evolved since concerns raised in 2019 about overappointment and fees. Court witnesses said the judiciary responded to earlier concerns by requiring open appointment lists of trained and qualified attorneys, improving training, and increasing oversight of fee orders. They reported that statewide GAL fees have fallen from a little over $14 million in 2019 to about $12 million, even as caseloads have grown, and said the average payment works out to about $650 per case, with the statutory cap for trial-level GAL fees still set at $500 since 1986. They argued that the current local appointment model works well, especially in rural areas, and warned that moving to a DPA-style regional model would create serious scheduling and conflict problems because of overlapping dockets and related criminal cases. Judges from rural districts described shortages of available attorneys, high burnout, travel burdens, and the difficulty of finding enough counsel in smaller counties. They also said the Court of Justice cannot seek certain federal Title IV-E reimbursements, but urged the legislature to encourage the Finance and Administration Cabinet and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to pursue that funding through an MOU. One judge noted that some appointed attorneys are effectively underpaid relative to private rates and that better compensation would help attract and retain lawyers. The discussion also covered training standards adopted after the 2019 audit. Witnesses said Rule 37 now requires initial training and four hours of multidisciplinary continuing training every two years, with topics including child development, trauma-informed care, substance use, child welfare, forensics, ethics, and communication with clients. They said the Court of Justice has offered in-person regional trainings and remote options, and that the goal is to keep qualified attorneys on the appointment lists while improving representation for children and parents in dependency, neglect, abuse, and termination-of-parental-rights cases.