Transcript Highlights:

• It would require that patients give consent before undergoing anesthetized procedures under which they
• It would require that patients give consent before undergoing anesthetized procedures under which they
• So if you are unconscious, whether because of an accident or because in most cases a medical procedure
• We’re not explaining the whole procedure of what’s going to happen, what they plan to do.
• to a procedure or if during a procedure to a procedure or if during a procedure something<00:20:

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Procedures.
• And for the Committee on Human Services, AG 4846 by Hopper, relating to criminal procedures related to
• HB 4913 by Moody, relating to the procurement procedures for certain municipal housing. authorities for
• HB 4985 by Gerdes, relating to the procedures and the public test of logic and accuracy for the voting
• HB 4987 by Canales ruling the alternative dispute. resolution procedure regarding certain matters under

Bills: HB9, HB22, HB908, HB1392

Keywords: property tax, ad valorem tax, tangible personal property, income-producing property, business personal property, tax exemption, local government finance, appraisal district, chief appraiser, rendition statement, property tax relief, small business, commercial property, leased property, related business entity, unified business enterprise, tax situs, Texas Tax Code, local taxing unit, constitutional amendment

Transcript Highlights:

• The town was not in compliance with these codes and other proper accounting procedures, as noted below
• Procedural question, if I could. Yes.
• So my question is, do you have a procedure to call an emergency meeting?
• The city was in noncompliance with these codes and other accounting procedures as follows.
• You know, the law allows them to reassign accounting procedures if they're in noncompliance.

Keywords: 1204, all

Summary: The committee heard multiple audit and compliance reports involving Arkansas municipalities and a regional solid waste district. Several small towns were discussed for repeat findings involving delinquent water and sewer audits, municipal accounting noncompliance, and misuse of street funds, including Fargo, Lead Hill, Alma, Jericho, Haynes, Biggers, Gilmore, and Holly Grove. In several cases, staff noted that turnback escrow was already being withheld because required water audits had not been filed, and some entities were reported to be current on payment plans only after staff updated the records through May 2026. The committee also reviewed a special report on the Pulaski County Regional Solid Waste Management District, which included findings on payroll approvals, contracts, credit card documentation, vehicle and cell phone use, bidding, advertising costs, and the sale of trailers and other equipment. A separate report on municipal accounting noncompliance was presented for towns including Denning, Gum Springs, Fargo, Lead Hill, and Alma, with staff recommending some be removed from the 60-day list while others remained under review. Several local officials appeared and explained the findings. Fargo’s mayor said the town was understaffed and had begun improving records, while Lead Hill’s mayor said the town had hired more office help and was working to complete overdue water audits. Alma’s officials said they were trying to catch up on audits and accounting issues. Jericho’s police chief defended the town’s traffic enforcement and said the town had adjusted speed limits and enforcement practices to avoid the speed-trap threshold, while staff clarified that the prosecutor decides whether to pursue penalties. Haynes officials said revenue losses and the loss of their police department had made it difficult to keep up with required street-fund payments, and Gilmore officials said they were working on IRS and other debts. The Pulaski County district director said the board had authorized many of the questioned practices and that some issues, such as advertising and vehicle use, were tied to public education and operational needs. The committee took several actions. It approved minutes, accepted or filed some reports without objection, removed Denning and Gum Springs from the 60-day list, and deferred action on several matters, including Fargo, Lead Hill, Alma, Haynes, and the Pulaski County solid waste district, generally until the September or August meeting. Motions to defer or file reports were adopted in multiple cases, and the committee also noted that some matters had been referred to the appropriate prosecuting attorney for further review. The meeting ended with recognition of visiting accounting students who were attending as part of summer internships.

Transcript Highlights:

• And again, these are just the top procedure codes.
• :09:05.720> the that the procedure code doesn't have the that the procedure code doesn't have
• <00:09:31.000> code look over um on the procedure code look over um on the procedure code
• procedure procedure code<00:09:45.600> again<00:09:46.120> same<00:09:46.440> information
• 00:10:47.760> um<00:10:48.680> uh the top procedures or the top um uh the top procedures

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Budget Review Subcommittee on Health and Family Services held its first meeting and received an overview from the Department for Medicaid Services on Medicaid’s behavioral health and substance use disorder services. Commissioner Lisa Lee and CFO Steve Beal said Kentucky Medicaid serves about 1.4 million members, including over half of Kentucky children, with 485,000 expansion members, more than 69,000 enrolled providers, and total fiscal year 2024 expenditures of $18.5 billion. They said Kentucky covers a broad range of behavioral health services, and behavioral health provider enrollment has grown from a little over 4,500 in 2019 to nearly 8,000 in 2024. They also described how Medicaid spending and utilization are tracked through claims and encounter data, with most members served through managed care organizations. Members focused on sharp increases in certain behavioral health billing codes, especially peer-to-peer services, and asked about reimbursement, utilization review, and whether the growth reflected increased need or expanded coverage. DMS said the rise was partly tied to combining facility and nonfacility behavioral health fee schedules in 2023, choosing the higher reimbursement rate to avoid cuts, and that the department has seen an uptick in peer-to-peer services. In response to concerns about overutilization, DMS said it mailed a letter to behavioral health providers, is considering limits and prior authorizations for some services, and plans to create a standardized monthly behavioral health report to monitor trends consistently and identify when controls may be needed. Lawmakers also asked whether the provider network is sufficient and whether access is adequate, especially for children. DMS said provider enrollment has expanded because behavioral health services were added to Medicaid in 2014 and because demand increased after COVID, but acknowledged studies showing children have less access than adults and said that would be an area of focus. The department said managed care organizations are required to ensure access to needed services and that current trends indicate access is available, though one member disagreed and said workforce shortages remain a major concern. Another member asked about non-emergency medical transportation spending, and DMS explained that it is handled through a capitated arrangement administered by the Transportation Cabinet rather than directly by the managed care organizations.

Transcript Highlights:

• History 4554 by Slawson relating to the procedures of residential eviction suits.
• HB 4569 by Dean relating to an appraisal procedure for disputed losses or personal automobile insurance
• HG 4846 by Hpper relating to criminal procedures related to a child who has committed certain Class C
• HB 4985 by Curtis relating to the procedures and the public test of logic and accuracy for the voting
• HB 4987 by Canalis ruling the alternative dispute resolution procedure regarding certain matters under

Transcript Highlights:

• About this medical procedure in the same way that there's a whole string of other medical procedures
• President, it's the same as with any other procedure.
• So you put a list of different health care procedures.
• So I think this procedure is treated like any other procedure that's out there.
• covering up this reporting for this procedure when we're not covering up for other procedures.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They’re not required to demonstrate competency in procedures involving skin and soft tissue augmentation
• said, there already is a route... ...for dentists who want to have that greater role in facial procedures
• I'm a medical doctor and I also completed a fellowship in cosmetic procedural dermatology.
• I've been practicing for over 10 years in Austin, Texas, exclusively. of the leap in cosmetic procedures
• Do a facelift or that type of surgical procedure in my practice.

Bills: SB1117, SB1373, SB672, SB1986, SB1098, SB626, SB1784, SB2480, SB2487, SB437, SB660

Keywords: dentistry, botulinum toxin, aesthetic treatments, dental regulation, training, medical staff privileges, hospital administration, healthcare regulation, Texas Health and Safety Code, consistency in privileges, SB 672, Texas hospital emergency operations plan, hospital diversion, emergency department, cyberattack, cyber security, power outage, electrical outage, patient diversion, hospital preparedness

Transcript Highlights:

• Or any medical procedure including a surgical procedure to affirm a person's perception of his or her
• Representative Gottlieb: This is a procedural changing of the law, is it not?
• Representative Gottlieb: We're not changing subject but procedure?
• It is the Florida Supreme Court that determines the procedure of courts.
• Since this bill is procedural not substantive, this is not something that the Florida.

Transcript Highlights:

• to be necessary components of procedural to be necessary components of procedural due<00:16:41.079
• <00:19:22.559> due itself satisfies procedural due itself satisfies procedural due process
• any procedure and to change<00:19:37.840> it<00:19:37.960> at<00:19:38.120> any
• The requirement for a two-thirds vote to expel by itself satisfies procedural due process.
• <00:43:14.760> due by itself satisfies procedural due by itself satisfies procedural due process

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: The Senate convened under call, established a quorum, and adopted the committee reports. It then moved through second reading of Senate File 334 and first readings/referrals of Senate Files 645, 684, and 700, with SF 645 sent to State and Local Government and SFs 684 and 700 sent to Health and Human Services. The chamber also approved a motion to withdraw Senate File 567 from State and Local Government and re-refer it to Elections. The Senate adopted Senate Resolution 5 and Senate Resolution 6, both recognizing Senate employees for years of dedicated service, including a specific recognition of David Jorgenson. The most significant floor action was a motion by Senator Rasmusson to expel Senator Nicole Mitchell and declare her seat vacant. Senator Rasmusson argued that Mitchell’s pending felony burglary case and delay of her trial justified expulsion; Senator Frentz opposed the motion, arguing the Senate should wait for the criminal process and that due process requirements had not been met. After a point of order and appeal, the President ruled the Frentz point of order well taken, and the Senate upheld that ruling by a 33-33 vote. The meeting also included several recesses and procedural calls of the Senate while the expulsion issue was debated. During announcements, members noted committee schedule changes, including cancellations or postponements for Energy and Jobs, and meetings for Judiciary, Policy, and Human Services. The Senate then adjourned until Thursday, January 30th at 11:00 a.m.

Transcript Highlights:

• First, it moves all of our internal procedures from administrative rule and relocates those procedures
• So it's currently all of the procedures are within the manual.
• It's the procedures of how our staff will operate on a day-to-day basis.
• We do have procedures that are internal, yes.
• and procedure manual.

Summary: The Joint Committee on Aging, Children, and Youth first approved the February 11 minutes and then reviewed a DCFS policy manual update from Director Tiffany Wright. The rule changes were described as largely terminology and compliance updates to align with new laws, an executive order, and current practice, including moving internal procedures out of the public manual and into DCFS’s internal procedure manual. Members asked whether the changes altered practice or just wording, and Wright said they were mainly procedural and vernacular updates, such as changing terms like “protection plan” to “immediate safety plan” and “safety factor” to “safety threat.” The committee then reviewed and accepted the rule without objection. Wright also presented DCFS performance data for the third quarter of FY 2026, including hotline reports, investigations, foster care, in-home services, permanency, and adoption measures. She noted staffing shortages in some counties, lower timeliness in completing maltreatment reports, and efforts to support those areas with central office staff and daily calls. Members asked about neglect trends, sexual abuse/exploitation categories, behavioral issues, and workforce recruitment and retention. Wright said DCFS is expanding hiring support, outreach, retention efforts, trauma support through UAMS, and a new staff training model beginning July 1. She also presented the biannual overturned investigations report, which tracks hotline calls, true findings, appeals, and reversals by county, and answered questions about comparing it with prior years. Major Jeff Drew of the Crimes Against Children Division presented the 2025 annual report, saying the hotline received 67,987 calls and 37,986 were accepted for investigation, with 6,539 CACD investigations assigned and a 28% substantiation rate. He described hotline operator training, including a four-week program with policy review, scenarios, recorded calls, live call monitoring, and evidence-chain and decision-making instruction. He said the starting salary for hotline operators is $43,888 plus benefits and would check on comparisons with other states. Elizabeth Pooley of the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Arkansas reported that the state’s 29 CACs and 64 multidisciplinary teams served 13,568 children and families in 2025, up about 3,000 from the prior year, and hosted 259 trainings. Members asked about funding, and she said state funding is the same for each center at roughly $70,000 to $75,000, supplemented by federal and community support, with work underway on Arkansas-specific best practices. The meeting ended after a brief unrelated question about Meals on Wheels and a Project Zero adoption event announcement.

Transcript Highlights:

• Rather than the skin and facial tissue, they're not required to demonstrate competency in procedures
• I'm a medical doctor and also completed a cosmetic fellowship in cosmetic procedural dermatology.
• I've been practicing over 10 years in Austin, Texas exclusively in cosmetic procedures and want to speak
• the complications of other providers due to this really frequent rise in the number of aesthetic procedures
• The um the hit it and quit it is there are appropriate procedures in place for medical training, just

Transcript Highlights:

• Number seven, UAMS Endoscopy Procedure Room Renovation.
• This increases an existing MOF to modernize this procedure room to accommodate advanced procedures.
• I'm asking for your procedure about how it failed.
• Okay, I'm going to be honest: I don't feel warm and fuzzy about your procedure.
• It's always a lack of procedure that causes it.

Summary: The committee met to review a supplemental agenda, procurement rule revisions, methods of finance, discretionary grants, contracts, and a member disclosure. The Office of State Procurement presented rule changes tied to 2025 legislative changes, including Act 782, with updates to sole-source definitions, unrealistic bids, protest requirements, debarment procedures, and recodification references; the committee voted to accept the supplemental agenda and approve the rules. Members also approved eight methods of finance covering university repairs, equipment replacement, property purchase, and capital projects, along with a large slate of discretionary grants for courts, health, DHS, historic preservation, and tobacco prevention programs. The committee then reviewed RFQs and six ratifications. The ratifications included a Workforce Connections payment to ACT WorkKeys, Department of Health costs from an ice-storm-related water leak, a large Department of Public Safety ratification for Motorola’s Arkansas Wireless Information Network upgrade, Veterans Affairs HVAC and medical-service payments, and a UA Little Rock painting contract. The Department of Public Safety ratification drew extended questioning about why the expired Motorola contract had not been renewed sooner and why the issue took months to reach the committee; agency officials said the project was bond-funded, had not been tracked in ASIS, and involved ongoing negotiations and system updates. Despite concerns, the committee approved the ratifications. Members also reviewed a long list of construction, intergovernmental, out-of-state, and in-state contracts, including numerous university, DHS, health, corrections, and state agency agreements. Several contracts were discussed in more detail, including an SAU custodial contract question about sales tax and transparency reporting, and Department of Corrections aerial application contracts for Tucker and Cummins farms, which officials said served separate facilities in different parts of the state. The committee approved the contract lists, reviewed reports, and accepted a disclosure from Representative Andrew Collins regarding his investment interest in a company leasing property to Arkansas Rehabilitation Services before adjourning.

Transcript Highlights:

• Create policies and procedures.
• Create policies and procedures.
• Create policies and procedures.
• Create policies and procedures.
• Create policies and procedures.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Finance Committee met on January 9, 2025, to focus on internal controls, fraud prevention, and legislative oversight of state agencies. Legislative Auditor Judy Randall explained Minnesota’s internal control framework, based on the GAO Green Book, and described five core controls: assigning responsibility, separating duties, restricting access, maintaining policies and procedures, and keeping records. She tied each control to examples from recent audits, including DHS’s Medicaid provider debt recovery, the Minnesota State Academies’ travel reimbursement issue, privileged access at the Minnesota State Lottery, missing mileage-verification procedures at the Board of Firefighter Training and Education, and weak documentation in the Board on Aging’s senior nutrition program. Deputy Legislative Auditor Jod Mson Rodriguez then presented a new follow-up report on implementation of prior recommendations from 2022 through 2024, including special reviews. She said the office gathers agency documentation, evaluates progress, and categorizes recommendations from implemented to not applicable, while noting that some items require more work to verify and that this reflects OLA capacity rather than agency performance. Examples included the Department of Commerce, where some policy changes were verified but further work would be needed to confirm consistent investigator compliance, and the Metropolitan Council, where more data analysis would be needed to determine whether bonus payments were properly earned. She also noted that a legislature-directed recommendation to require grant manager training had not been implemented. Overall, OLA reported that state agencies had implemented or partially implemented close to 70% of its recommendations, while the legislature had implemented or partially implemented about 40% of recommendations from the last three years. Members generally praised the office’s work and discussed how agencies respond after reports are issued. Senator Westrom raised concerns about a recent media report on alleged fraud in CCAP, and Randall said OLA was aware of the issue but could not discuss details. Senator Draheim asked about post-report agency engagement, and Randall and Rodriguez said follow-up varies, with some agencies seeking private meetings and others engaging less, but that the follow-up process often prompts further discussion and improvement.

Transcript Highlights:

• Current employees who currently have recourse to the state grievance procedures will continue to have
• access to the state grievance procedure, again, as long as they remain in their current position.
• Current employees who currently have recourse to the state grievance procedures will continue to have
• access to the state grievance procedure, again, as long as they remain in their current position.
• access to those procedures as long as they remain in their current position.

Keywords: 994, senate, all

Summary: The committee considered several bills and amendments, beginning with House Bill 4995 on video cameras in special education classrooms. Counsel explained that the bill would require parents to be notified of recording interruptions, provide written notice of the camera law to parents and school employees, allow recordings to be used for discipline of school personnel, shorten required random review intervals from 90 days to 30 days, and clarify that local boards still must independently investigate abuse allegations. The committee then moved to report HB 4995 to the full Senate with a do pass recommendation, and the motion was adopted. House Bill 5214, dealing with child abuse and neglect cases, was amended to allow courts to require drug testing of parents in certain cases, require laboratory confirmation of positive results, require the department to pay testing costs, and notify the court and guardian ad litem of positive results. The committee adopted the amendment, reported the bill as amended, and adopted a title amendment. The committee also considered House Bill 4025 and House Bill 5441, both restructuring civil service and grievance procedures for certain state agencies. HB 4025 would exempt employees of Health, health facilities, and Human Services from classified civil service and grievance procedures beginning July 1, 2026, while HB 5441 would do the same for Transportation, Revenue, and the Bureau for Social Services and transfer personnel functions to the Division of Personnel. After discussion, the committee adopted the amendments and reported both bills as amended. For House Bill 4602, a revived child welfare privatization proposal, the committee heard testimony from the Bureau for Social Services about caseloads, provider access to the PATH system, oversight responsibilities, and concerns about costs and outcomes in other states. The chair amended the bill to remove one of the two pilot regions, leaving only the Berkeley/Jefferson County pilot. Despite opposition from the senator from Marion, the committee adopted the amendment and reported the bill as amended. House Bill 4106, which would remove the provisional concealed handgun license requirement for 18- to 20-year-olds, drew testimony from a pediatric physician opposing the change and from a gun rights advocate supporting it. An amendment requiring under-21 individuals to complete firearms training was offered but defeated by roll call vote, and the bill was then reported as amended. Finally, the committee took up House Bill 4198, an E-Verify bill. A subcommittee report and strike-and-insert amendment revised definitions, exemptions, notice requirements, record retention, and penalties, and the committee invoked the previous question to end debate. The strike-and-insert amendment was adopted, and HB 4198 was reported to the full Senate as amended. House Bill 5319 was removed from the agenda, and the committee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• , the same procedure authorized in House Bill 213.
• Optometry has been allowed to do these procedures in Oklahoma since 1998.
• The legislature has not revoked that procedure.
• In fact, there are 14 other states that are allowed to do these types of procedures.
• I had to wait over three months to get the procedure done, and it was great.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• On alternative judicial procedures by Senator Garcia, you're recognized to explain the bill.
• The amendment strengthens Florida's judicial sales and foreclosure procedures by enhancing transparency
• First, the fair procedures in current law applied to all sales unless the court orders otherwise.
• This will alert the trial judge and will always keep lawyers from burying unfair sales procedures in
• Handling of sales procedures as a whole, strengthening protections for homeowners and associations.

Summary: The Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice met to review its proposed fiscal year 2025-2026 budget, totaling about $7.6 billion. The chair highlighted funding for the Department of Corrections, including health services, food inflation, and prison population growth; the Department of Juvenile Justice for residential beds and higher food/medical costs; FDLE for a law enforcement apprenticeship program and officer wellness services; justice administration for court-appointed attorney rates and VOCA shortfalls; major IT projects; and court operations, including funding for 29 new judges. Members asked about where the new judgeships would go and whether staffing would accompany them, and staff said the judge positions would be listed later in a conforming bill and that associated court staff were included, but not additional state attorney or public defender staffing. Several members also asked whether the budget addressed pay and staffing shortages in state attorneys’ and public defenders’ offices, and staff said those decisions had not yet been finalized. The committee then heard public testimony from several speakers who urged more funding for prison safety, medical care, and oversight. Speakers described personal experiences involving deaths or serious harm in correctional facilities and jails, alleging inadequate medical treatment, excessive force, isolation, and failures to investigate. One speaker said her son died after being beaten and denied timely medical care in a correctional facility; another said her son was not receiving adequate health care at Charlotte Correctional; and another described her brother’s death in the Marion County Jail after repeated tasing and pepper spraying. The committee adopted a motion allowing staff to make technical adjustments and then approved the committee’s budget proposal as a recommendation to the full Senate Appropriations Committee. The committee also took up CS for CS SB 48 on alternative judicial procedures and foreclosure sales. Senator Garcia offered an amendment to standardize judicial sales, increase transparency, limit preferences in bidding, preserve public notice requirements, restrict plaintiff credit bids to the amount of the judgment unless a deposit is posted, and prevent deviations from statutory timelines and procedures from being hidden in court orders. Garcia said the bill was intended to close loopholes and protect homeowners, especially condominium owners, from unfair foreclosure practices. A representative for Auction.com said similar laws have been used in other states and offered to provide data. After debate, the amendment was adopted, and the bill passed the committee favorably on a roll call vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• In our first its written procedures.
• However, these procedures have not been formalized into written standard operating procedures.
• staff develop formal written procedures. staff develop formal written procedures.
• <00:29:24.960> is development of written procedures is development of written procedures is
• The procedures should and members.

Keywords: Call to Order and Roll Call- 00:00:03 Summary of Staff Report on the Firefighter Commission Minimum Training Standards and Administrative Spending- 00:01:00 Staff Update on Child Fatality and Near Fatality External Review Panel 00:16:00 Child Fatality and Near Fatality Review Panel Representatives Available for Questions-00:39:34 Kentucky State Police & Finance Cabinet Status Update on Kentucky Statewide Emergency Responder Voice System-00:52:35 Adjournment-01:46:24, 958, all

Summary: The committee first approved the minutes from December 19 and June 12, then received a staff report on the Kentucky Fire Commission’s minimum training standards and administrative spending. Staff explained that the commission’s current minimum training hours are 115 for volunteer firefighters and 300 for paid firefighters, down from 150 and 400 before January 1, 2023, after the commission removed elective classes not directly tied to NFPA standards. The report found the commission’s certification testing aligns fully with NFPA standards, but recommended that the commission formally promulgate regulations establishing the reduced training hours. On finances, staff said the commission complied with the first statutory cap on administrative reimbursements to KCTCS, but could not verify compliance with a second, more specific cap because the finance system does not break out program-level costs and the statute is vague. Staff recommended the commission work with KCTCS to fix that issue and suggested the General Assembly may wish to clarify the statute. After questions about reimbursement levels and investment income, the committee voted to accept the report. The committee then heard an update on the Kentucky Child Fatality and Near Fatality External Review Panel. Staff reported that the panel has implemented two of three prior recommendations: it revised its agency notification letter to clearly state the 90-day response deadline and added response prompts and checkboxes to improve completeness. The third recommendation, to adopt formal written procedures, remains in progress; staff said the panel plans to develop those procedures alongside its new case management system. The panel is meeting its statutory membership and meeting requirements, but agency responses to its recommendations have been inconsistent: 48% were timely and appropriate in 2022, 36% in 2023, and 82% in 2024, though only three of nine timely 2024 responses were fully complete. Staff also described the new case management system project, funded with $200,000 in one-time money, and recommended the panel consult budget staff about use of those funds beyond fiscal year 2025. They reissued the recommendation that the panel develop written procedures for case review, findings, recommendations, and annual reports. Committee members raised concerns about the lack of penalties for noncompliance, the volume and length of panel meetings, and technology barriers to reviewing cases, and one member said the panel’s findings should inform future legislation.

Transcript Highlights:

• Procedural question, if I could. Yes. If we wanted to do... just educate me.
• Procedures. So we do take them very seriously. Thank you for the follow-up, Mr. Chair.
• So my question is, do you have a procedure to call an emergency meeting?
• So my question is, do you have a procedure to cold an emergency meeting?
• Accounting procedures for municipalities are set forth...

Summary: The committee approved the prior meeting minutes and then received updates on delinquent water and sewer reports, including seven new reinstatements and a reduction to four remaining delinquent filers. Staff also reported on municipal accounting code noncompliance, removing Denning and Gum Springs from the 60-day clock after improved records were verified, and presenting repeat findings for Fargo, Lead Hill, Alma, Jericho, and Haynes. Members discussed repeated audit problems, the length of time some issues had persisted, and whether towns should be given additional time or face stronger action; motions were made and adopted to place some entities on a 60-day clock or defer action to later meetings. For Fargo and Alma, staff described extensive repeat accounting deficiencies, including missing budgets, bank reconciliations, financial statements, receipts, journals, and supporting documentation. Fargo’s mayor said the town had been understaffed and was beginning to improve its office systems; the committee voted to defer the matter for 60 days and file the report. Alma’s officials said they were trying to correct water audit and accounting issues, and the committee likewise deferred the matter to the August meeting while warning that water-audit delays could jeopardize turnback funds. The committee then reviewed misuse-of-street-funds findings for Jericho and Haynes. Jericho’s police chief and officials explained that traffic fines, drug-related arrests, and other citations had pushed the town over the statutory threshold, while staff clarified that the speed-trap calculation excludes certain add-on fines and is referred to the prosecuting attorney for any action. Haynes officials said repayment problems stemmed from lost revenue and staffing changes, including the loss of the police department, but staff reported the town remained behind on its repayment plan and also owed the IRS. The committee voted to defer the Haynes matter to September and to defer Jericho as well, with members emphasizing the need for consistency and possible broader legislative review of small-town viability. A special report on the Pulaski County Regional Solid Waste Management District drew substantial discussion. Staff cited findings involving board approval of payroll and contracts, credit card documentation, car allowances and personal vehicle use, competitive bidding, and unusually high advertising spending, as well as the sale of trailers and other equipment at low prices. The district director said the board had delegated authority for many expenditures, that personal use was reported for tax purposes, and that advertising was necessary to educate the public about recycling. Members questioned the procurement and disposal decisions and the size of the advertising budget; after discussion, the committee deferred the report to September and asked the director to return. The meeting also included brief deferred reports on Biggers, Gilmore, and Holly Grove, which were filed after local officials described ongoing efforts to resolve long-standing audit and tax issues.

Transcript Highlights:

• First, it moves all of our internal procedures from administrative rule and relocates those procedures
• to our internal procedure manual, which is supported by an executive order from the governor.
• It's the procedures of how our staff will operate on a day-to-day basis.
• We do have procedures that are internal, yes.
• and procedure manual.

Summary: The Joint Committee on Aging, Children and Youth approved the February 11 minutes and then reviewed a DCFS policy manual update from Director Tiffany Wright. Wright said the changes move internal procedures out of administrative rule into DCFS’s internal procedure manual under an executive order, while also updating terminology, conforming to enacted laws, revising foster family continuing education hours, and removing obsolete requirements. Members asked whether the changes would alter practice; Wright said they were mainly terminology and process-location changes, intended to make the department more efficient and flexible. The committee then accepted the rule review without objection. Wright next presented DCFS quarterly performance data for the third quarter of FY 2026. She reported 8,610 hotline reports accepted, 6,919 assigned to DCFS, 22% of investigations found true, neglect as the most common substantiated allegation, and continued staffing shortages in some counties affecting timeliness. She also reported 3,420 foster care cases, 1,788 in-home cases involving 4,568 children, 72% monthly home-visit compliance, 36% permanency within 12 months, 4.5% re-entry into foster care, and 156 children available for adoption. Members asked about neglect trends, sexual abuse/exploitation data, behavior-related removals, staffing recruitment and retention, training improvements, and whether ACE-style testing should be considered for children; Wright said DCFS is expanding recruitment, retention, and training efforts and was open to further discussion on education-related assessments. The committee also received DCFS’s biannual overturned investigations report, covering July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025, which tracks hotline calls, accepted reports, true findings, appeals, and overturned findings by county. A member asked for comparison to the prior year’s report. Major Jeff Drew then presented the Crimes Against Children Division annual report, saying the hotline received 67,987 calls in 2025, 37,986 were accepted for investigation, and CACD handled 6,539 cases with a 28% substantiation rate. Members asked about hotline operator training, qualifications, salary, and whether Arkansas compares with other states; Drew said operators receive a four-week training that includes law, policy, scenarios, recorded calls, live-call monitoring, and evidence-chain/decision-making instruction. Finally, Elizabeth Pooley of the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Arkansas reported that the statewide network of 29 CACs and 64 multidisciplinary teams served 13,568 children and families in 2025, up about 3,000 from the prior year, and hosted 259 trainings for professionals. She said funding comes from a mix of state, federal, and community sources, with state funding set at roughly $70,000 to $75,000 per center and not based on caseload. Members asked about funding stability and standards of care; Pooley said CACs follow national standards and Arkansas is developing state best practices. The meeting adjourned after no further business.

Transcript Highlights:

• <02:47:13.279> have know how many of these procedures have know how many of these procedures
• be able to perform these procedures. be able to perform these procedures.
• procedures that are defined in statute. procedures that are defined in statute.
• HB 349 applies minimum procedures for optometrists to gain surgical procedures.
• c> for applies minimum procedures for applies minimum procedures for optometrists<03:21:28.000>

Keywords: 1191, senate, all