Transcript Highlights:

• protective services children.
• And I think that really gets... knowing about TK in a more recent survey.
• The Stanford Center on Early Childhood's RAND survey just found this.
• She said the change would help families access full-day, full-year services.
• Child care helps my family by giving me child care service so my mom could go to work.

Transcript Highlights:

• 78 service providers as our member providers.
• And then with that survey, we have about 60%...
• And then with that survey, we have about 60%.
• Well, I guess not children's service, but all these services are available to everybody, including any
• So I've always understood that to be a function of the services, the diagnostic services that kind of

Committee: All TASK FORCE ON AUTISM

Summary: The Arkansas Legislative Autism Task Force approved the April 1, 2026 meeting minutes and discussed several vacant membership slots, including positions tied to the Arkansas Psychology Board, Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield, UAMS, and parent or guardian appointments. Members said they would try to fill the vacancies and, if not, include the issue in the legislative report and consider statutory changes in the next General Assembly. The task force then heard from the Developmental Disabilities Provider Association and Civitan Services about DDPA’s role in supporting 80 provider organizations serving more than 13,000 children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities across 75 counties. They described services such as early intervention day programs, adult day programs, supported employment, intermediate care facilities, work activities, and community/residential waiver services, and said autism falls within the populations they serve. They also shared survey information on services used by older adults with IDD and offered contact information for providers. Members also heard a proposal to amend Act 656 of 2021 to add licensed psychological practitioners as qualified providers for autism waiver-related evaluations. The presenter argued this would reduce wait times, avoid duplicate assessments, and help families access services sooner, while noting that Arkansas Medicaid already pays for some of these evaluations. Task force members and Dr. Scott discussed the roles of psychologists, speech-language pathologists, and the possibility of using training or board oversight to ensure evaluators are properly qualified, with some noting that speech pathologists’ inclusion has historical and clinical roots. The task force also said it still needs a future discussion on fraud, plans to invite the Attorney General’s office, and wants to identify priorities for the 2027 session before adjourning.

Transcript Highlights:

• Ian Keller, staff attorney, Legislative Counsel Service, and the new lead staffer for the Land Grant
• too late to actually challenge that survey because the statute of limitations to challenge the survey
• an administrative process and saying, 'Hey, the survey is encroaching on our common lands.'
• First of all, thank you for your service.
• survey.

Committee: House House Rural Development, Land Grants And Cultural Affairs

Transcript Highlights:

• Into the service fund. Correct, into the service fund.
• Most things are moving toward platform as a service, software as a service.
• An additional $1 million of dedicated emergency communication service revenue for prepaid wireless service
• Yeah, the prepaid wireless services, so you buy those in advance. service definition for your consideration
• We needed some help with service desk.

Committee: Joint Information Technology Committee

Summary: The Information Technology Committee approved the March 26 minutes and received a series of reports from NDIT on major IT projects, the annual report, mainframe modernization, and cybersecurity services. The project portfolio was reported at 116 major projects with a baseline cost of $546 million, overall under budget but modestly behind schedule. Several projects that had been in variance status last quarter were said to have closed, including HHS bed management, vital records modernization, and DOT roadway capital planning. New startup reports were mostly HHS efforts tied to refugee data management, technical debt cleanup, and legacy application decommissioning, while closeouts included HHS, OMB, DPI, and DOT projects with mixed budget and schedule results. In the annual report discussion, NDIT described its service-fund financials, peer-state rate comparisons, records management reporting, and customer satisfaction efforts. Members asked about how revenues and grants flow through the service fund, how NDIT charges agencies for services, and whether customer satisfaction or CSAT scores are tracked and could be reported more regularly. NDIT said it does track service-team CSAT and survey data, and committee members encouraged more regular reporting of those metrics. The committee also discussed application portfolio management, statewide IT planning, and whether agencies should slow new system replacements while the state pursues an ERP system. The mainframe update focused on the state’s ongoing effort to retire legacy systems by about 2030. NDIT and HHS said the work is being managed as a tech-debt program, but progress is slowed by data cleanup, integration complexity, staff retirements, vendor capacity, and federal requirements. Members asked whether there is a coordinated commitment and whether additional vendor support or consultants are needed; NDIT said it is working jointly with HHS and is seeking an RFP to help accelerate modernization. The cybersecurity presentation then shifted to statewide maturity assessments and services. NDIT said it provides endpoint protection, vulnerability scanning, security awareness training, threat briefings, and penetration testing, and that assessments are based on CIS controls. Members raised concerns about low participation in the self-assessment process, the lack of mandatory reporting or audit authority, and whether insurance incentives through Enderf or possible State Auditor involvement could improve compliance. No formal votes were taken beyond approval of the minutes.

Transcript Highlights:

• Give you more information, talk about what I have here and send any of the underlying data or service
• surveys, international surveys and our direct influence or survey, which I will go over with you.
• And so we survey more than 13,000 people over the course of the year.
• So we do have a Florida resident sentiment survey.
• That's what we do specifically in our marketing effectiveness survey.

Transcript Highlights:

• Do we have appropriate behavioral health services?
• And the third in this short list of services is... the third component of this list of three is services
• services, I would say...
• Access to behavioral health services is crucial.
• At that point in time, it was the Department of Human Services and Social Services that was responsible

Committee: House Legislative Health & Human Services Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• Because as the age expands, will those services were due to be a preparation for more services?
• So dental therapist services are very limited in scope.
• That has been a national survey that had almost the same numbers. So this was a 70 of 260 women.
• So it's a short survey that is used to screen patients with cannabis use disorder.
• This is a prospect of survey that we conducted. It is in the consortium.

Transcript Highlights:

• city, they may be less familiar with it than perhaps an inner-city EMS service.
• So I actually think a survey of these different population groups is going to be really important.
• Because in a survey like that, we can also say, what do you want to know?
• How might we do that survey?
• But I do wonder if a statewide effort or a survey or perhaps a survey conducted by a licensing board,

Summary: The Working Group on Education and Training of the Special Commission on Xylazine held its first meeting to begin developing findings and recommendations on education and training for first responders, the medical community, the substance use treatment community, and people who use drugs. Members discussed the need for baseline information on what xylazine is, its clinical effects and harms, signs of exposure or poisoning, wound care, and immediate response steps, while also noting that training should be tailored by audience, geography, and role. Several members emphasized that the training should be practical and action-oriented, helping people recognize xylazine exposure and know what to do next, including whether naloxone is relevant and how to reduce risk and mitigate harm. A major theme was whether the group should recommend a needs assessment or survey to identify what different audiences already know and what they still need to learn. Members suggested that BSAS, DPH, local public health departments, licensing boards, and other stakeholders could help gather this information, and that existing resources such as DPH materials, MADS data, Brandeis materials, and trainings already being funded at BMC should be reviewed. The group also discussed the importance of using plain language for non-clinical audiences while still including clinical detail for providers, and of distinguishing between clinical and non-clinical training tracks. The working group agreed to divide into subgroups: Senator Keenan will focus on first responders, Dr. Simon on the medical community, and Millie Batiya on the substance use treatment community, while Chair Domb will focus on people who use drugs. Staff will send meeting notes, an early draft PowerPoint framework, and a shared Google Drive folder for materials. Members were asked to gather sources and ideas by November 25 ahead of the December 11 public meeting. The meeting ended with a motion to adjourn, a second, and unanimous thanks to staff and participants.

Transcript Highlights:

• these services. This funding touches 22 these services.
• </c> is they reduce services. is they reduce services.
• And here's about the survey. Mrs. Jones. And here's about the survey.
• Services through developmental services or people who need modifications or enhancements to their services
• services.

Summary: The Division 3 work session focused largely on amendment 1176 to HB 2, which would have incorporated the substance of HB 548FN, a House-passed bill creating a direct-pay or membership-based model for health care facilities. Representative Mlan described the proposal as a way to increase competition in health care by extending the direct-care model used in primary care to facilities, arguing it could encourage innovation and that concerns about widespread harm to critical access hospitals were overstated. He pointed to Oklahoma’s long-standing Surgical Center model as evidence that the approach had not spread broadly or displaced hospitals there. Several members and witnesses raised concerns. Representative Stringham questioned whether the model would shift profitable services and patients away from existing hospitals, potentially worsening their finances and affecting Medicaid-related funding. David Ross, speaking for county nursing homes, opposed the language because it also removed moratoriums on nursing home, skilled nursing, inpatient rehabilitation, and self-pay beds, warning that it could increase pressure on Medicaid rates and undermine community-based care. Ben Bradley of the New Hampshire Hospital Association said the proposal appeared to create a separate regulatory framework for direct-pay facilities and raised concerns about patient safety, CMS participation rules, and a separate patient bill of rights. The chair concluded that, because HB 548 was already moving through the Senate, the HB 2 process was not the best vehicle for the policy and that the issue should be left to the Senate’s more deliberative committee process. Representative Ferski moved to not accept or remove amendment 1176 from the agenda, and the committee approved the motion by roll call, 9-0, withdrawing the item from HB 2.

Transcript Highlights:

• Yes, sir, National Weather Service.
• Thank you for your service.
• Forest Service to the table on this.
• Magnetic surveys.
• You can have deep surveys or shallow surveys, depending on what you do.

Committee: House Water & Natural Resources Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• services.
• services. $50.
• They believe in public service.
• survey, and an exit survey, Groups, a baseline survey, a midpoint survey, and an exit survey, as well
• as a post-exit survey.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> never thought of this as a service never thought of this as a service priority,<00:57:44.000><c>
• So anything that would be a child service, a family service would live in one place within the state
• </c><01:21:04.000><c> Survey.
• Um, has for Prevention Survey.
• </c> responses on this survey. responses on this survey.

Committee: Joint Families & Children

Transcript Highlights:

• Additionally, the Department of Career Services also promotes career services resources online at mass.gov
• Kiami Mahania, Secretary of Health and Human Services.
• that was, if I can just finish this thought on the wealth survey.
• and human services that the federal government has abandoned on purpose?
• and human services, make up that gap in social services and human services that the federal government

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on Racial Equity, Civil Rights, and Inclusion

Transcript Highlights:

• But there's a provision in here that allows for outpatient mental health services.
• Welcome aboard, Travis, and thank you for all of your service. Congratulations, sir.
• The land survey program has never been increased since it was established in 1969.
• But at any rate, it's an invaluable service.
• And there are other people, too, that use this service. It's just so easy.

Summary: The House convened with prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, approved the previous day’s journal by a 126-0 roll call, and then heard several points of personal privilege, including recognition of National Fentanyl Awareness Day and a moment of silence for journalist Ray Hartman. Members also introduced numerous student groups, interns, and other guests in the gallery. The chamber then took up conference committee action on House Bills 2637 and 3155, a large public safety/criminal justice package. Debate focused on juvenile justice changes, including narrowing prosecutorial authority to seek juvenile certification, provisions for juvenile detention facilities, assisted outpatient mental health treatment, cyberstalking, drone restrictions, and related sentencing and sex-offender registry provisions. The House adopted the conference committee report 124-13, passed the bill 119-18, and then adopted an emergency clause for the drone-related sections by 125-15. Members also passed Senate Bill 834, a consumer protection and mortgage-related bill covering mortgage modifications and sale-leaseback disclosures, by 139-1, and Senate Bill 937, a land transfer measure authorizing the governor to dispose of certain state properties, by 137-2-1. Senate Bill 938, which raises recording fees to support the Missouri land survey program and recorder of deeds offices, passed 121-21-2. Senate Bill 973, dealing with wholesaler disclosures and adding land bank provisions while removing a school property right-of-first-refusal section, passed 110-36. The House then moved to announcements, noted upcoming committee meetings and Kentucky Derby Hat Day, and adjourned until April 30, 2026.

Transcript Highlights:

• We don't receive any public health funding from Indian Health Services.
• And then our community services and resources. So from 2022...
• They also did service provider interviews across the state for those who provided services to our MMIWP
• I'm going to go back really quickly to our law enforcement survey.
• I'm going to go back really quickly to our law enforcement survey.

Summary: The House State Government and Tribal Relations Committee held a field hearing on the Puyallup Reservation, where members first received an overview of sports betting in Washington. Tribal casino representatives and the Washington State Gambling Commission explained that sports betting became legal in 2020 under HB 2638 and is currently limited to tribal casinos through sportsbook, kiosk, and on-premise mobile wagering. Testimony covered how odds are set, compliance with federal anti-money-laundering rules, and the role of third-party vendors. Tribal representatives said sports betting supports tribal economic development and asked to expand betting to include Washington college teams, while warning that prediction markets and other unregulated products pose a threat. Committee members asked about geo-fencing, betting limits, in-state college betting restrictions, and regulatory oversight. No votes were taken. The committee then heard from Vicki Lowe of the American Indian Health Commission on tribal data sovereignty and health data. She described tribal sovereignty and the federal trust responsibility, and said tribes should have equitable access to their own health data and control over how it is used. She explained that during COVID, tribes often lacked direct access to state health data, which complicated case tracing and other public health work. Lowe said the Department of Health stopped collecting tribal affiliation in some contexts because of Public Records Act concerns, and she argued that this is inconsistent with tribal data-sharing principles adopted through the Governor’s Indian Health Advisory Council. Members asked for clarification about what counts as tribal data and how public records concerns affected data collection. No formal action was taken. Finally, Lucy Smartlut gave an update on the Washington State Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People Task Force. She reported on the task force’s structure, its extension through 2027, and progress on recommendations including a fully funded cold case investigation unit in the Attorney General’s office, an updated missing persons resource, and forensic genetic genealogy work on unidentified remains. She said the cold case unit has active investigations, has helped locate missing Indigenous people, and made its first homicide arrest. She also presented data showing Native people are disproportionately represented among homicide and missing persons cases, and noted survey findings that many law enforcement agencies rely on officer observation for race data and have limited consultation with tribes. Committee members asked about funding, interagency coordination, and whether the task force is shifting toward prevention. The presenter said sustainability, continued awareness, and stronger collaboration remain priorities, and no vote was taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• Of the states that we surveyed, Of the states that we surveyed, including the state of Wyoming, all of
• service basically.
• I'm hoping those that have signed up for WAM services is to get their F-66 done.
• In addition to these overpayments, one of the licensed surveys of the gravel...
• They did their own survey to substantiate the invoices.

Committee: Joint Management Audit Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• I thank you all for your testimony and your service as well.
• I thank you all for your testimony and your service as well.
• So the survey we conducted in Massachusetts really— So the survey we conducted in Massachusetts really
• the National Consumer Law Center as a national survey.
• the National Consumer Law Center as a national survey.

Committee: Joint Joint Committee on the Judiciary

Summary: The Joint Committee on the Judiciary held a lengthy public hearing on a wide range of civil actions, labor, consumer protection, and animal welfare bills. Chair Lydia Edwards and Representative Michael Day opened with strict testimony rules and time limits, then heard from legislators and advocates on measures including animal-abuser pet ownership bans (S. 1207/H. 1914), a name-change privacy bill (S. 1045/H. 1973), tort claims reform (H. 1724), law enforcement council coverage under the Tort Claims Act (S. 1199), civil rights and qualified immunity-related proposals (H. 1641), employee free speech/captive audience restrictions (S. 1078/H. 1653), consumer protection and civil rights jurisdiction expansion (S. 1041), private right of action for wage theft (H. 1916), gun-owner liability insurance (H. 1836), pseudoephedrine sales tracking (S. 1243/H. 1581), prepaid legal services plans (H. 1612), structured settlement protections (H. 1863), third-party litigation financing disclosure (H. 1861), antitrust reform for small businesses and workers (S. 1038/H. 1982), legal notices in online-only newspapers (S. 1279/H. 1632), and several animal cruelty and protection bills including H. 1938, H. 1949, S. 1277/H. 1934, and H. 1764. Testimony was largely supportive from bill sponsors and advocacy groups, with repeated themes of protecting vulnerable people and animals, improving access to justice, and updating outdated laws. Supporters of the animal bills argued for stronger possession bans, broader cruelty citations, and civil removal tools to prevent repeat abuse; opponents or conditional supporters raised due process and enforcement concerns, especially around warrantless seizures and requiring retail or shelter staff to check registries. On the labor and consumer side, supporters said the antitrust bill would curb monopoly power and help small businesses and workers, while opponents warned it could destabilize competition and burden successful firms. The employee free speech bill was backed as a response to captive audience meetings, and the wage-theft bill was presented as a way to let workers or organizations pursue claims when individual employees are afraid to come forward. Several public officials and association representatives testified on the law enforcement and civil rights bills. Chiefs of police supported adding law enforcement councils to the Tort Claims Act, saying it would close a liability gap for regional mutual-aid collaborations. But police representatives opposed changes to the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act and qualified immunity-related provisions, arguing the federal system already provides a workable forum and that expanding liability could increase costs, reduce morale, and worsen recruitment and retention. On the consumer/civil rights bill, Senator Collins and a veteran described an out-of-state assault case that they said showed the need for Massachusetts to let residents seek redress at home when rights are violated elsewhere. No votes or formal committee actions were taken during the hearing itself; the committee mainly received testimony and questions. Several witnesses indicated they had submitted written testimony or proposed amendments, and some bills drew requests for favorable reports while others were explicitly opposed unless amended.

Transcript Highlights:

• TRAINING ADP, AND PRE VOCATIONAL SERVICES.
• SERVICES.
• BASED ON A STUDY CONDUCTED BY ACHA ACTUARIAL SERVICE VENDOR.
• AND WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS ON SERVICE DELIVERY?
• BE DOING PREVOCATIONAL SERVICES HELPING THEM TO GET JOBS.

Transcript Highlights:

• Because typically, if you see a child in need of services, there's a family in need of services, right
• So looking at some survey results regarding PD, we asked teachers, So looking at some survey results
• So in the survey… So in the survey report, in the binder, if you have that—if not, we can provide that
• I'm a little intrigued on the management service and consulting. I wrote down professional service.
• I wrote down professional service.

Summary: The committee first approved the March 9 and 10 minutes, then heard a presentation from the Arkansas Excellence in Teaching Fellowship Program featuring three third-grade teachers from Poyen, Drew Central, and Cabot, along with Department of Education Secretary Jacob Oliva. The teachers described the fellowship as a year-long collaboration among 23 merit-pay recipients from across the state, focused on sharing classroom strategies, data use, and professional support. Members asked about teacher experience, how the fellowship information is shared locally, the role of merit pay, and how teachers are addressing third-grade reading and retention concerns under the ATLAS assessment system. The teachers emphasized early intervention, relationships with students, small-group instruction, progress monitoring, and communication with families; they also described community supports such as churches, food backpacks, and local donations. Several members raised broader questions about poverty, trauma, social services, DHS involvement, and whether similar professional learning should be expanded to more teachers. Secretary Oliva said the fellowship is a small subset of a larger merit-pay program, that participation was voluntary, and that the state is working to improve literacy supports, clarity, and alignment across grades. He also said ATLAS results are now available to schools and families much faster than in the past, often within 24 to 72 hours, and that the state is using the data to identify at-risk students earlier and support intervention before retention decisions are made. The committee then moved to the adequacy/resource allocation presentation from the Bureau of Legislative Research. Staff explained that the report is part of the statutory adequacy review and focuses on state funding sources beyond foundation aid, including categorical and supplemental funds. They noted that districts and charters spent more than $7 billion in the 2025 school year, with roughly 49% from foundation funding and 51% from other sources over the last three years. The presentation outlined the four categorical funds—Alternative Learning Environment, English Learners, Enhanced Student Achievement, and Professional Development—describing their restricted uses, student-based funding formulas, and the ability of districts to transfer some money among categoricals while keeping it within allowable purposes. Staff said categorical funds account for about 4% of total spending, or less than $300 million, and reviewed superintendent feedback on whether those funds met district needs, with responses varying by category and district.

Transcript Highlights:

• at finding service gaps and other areas of concern for Minnesotans with disabilities.
• Veronica Marshall, Senate Media Services.
• , but that is still disability services, but that is still just<00:02:00.159><c> the</c><00:02:00.399
• </c><00:02:08.239><c> gaps</c> a survey aimed at finding service gaps a survey aimed at finding service
• Veronica Marshall,<00:02:43.599><c> Senate</c><00:02:43.920><c> Media</c><00:02:44.319><c> Services.