Transcript Highlights:

• Our focus is responsible stewardship of these funds and expanding access to affordable spay and neuter
• services. ...and expanding access to affordable spay and neuter services for historically underserved
• The Health Care Delivery and Access Act was created through legislation during the 2024 session.
• Act that help patients, especially those in underserved and rural communities, access essential health
• This bill ensures that state policy continues to support long-term access, continuity, and fairness in

Bills: HB25, SB38, SB101, HB199

Keywords: juvenile delinquency, firearm possession, criminal background checks, state law, gun control, youth offense, conviction, public safety, SB38, pet food, registered pet food, registration fee, fees, sunset repeal, repeal of repeal, revenue, state fee, business regulation, animal feed, pet food registration

Transcript Highlights:

• access to people?
• This is rural dental access.
• Because sometimes missed appointments get counted into access or lack of access to care when it really
• <00:46:42.160> or appointments get counted into access or appointments get counted into access
• <00:47:53.400> and the conflation between access and the conflation between access and adherence

Keywords: 958, all

Transcript Highlights:

• to interpreting or sign language access. to interpreting or sign language access.
• accessible here in Hawaii. accessible here in Hawaii.
• The bill ensures access to care.
• We know our number of accessible.
• The uh disability and community access The uh disability and community access board<01:20:46.560

Bills: SB3263, SB3261

Keywords: student-athletes, name image likeness, NIL, compensation, transparency, University of Hawaii, Title IX, funding, protections, athlete agents, student athletes, endorsement contracts, professional representation, registration requirements, sports law, 912, senate, all

Summary: The joint Senate Committee on Education and Committee on Health and Human Services heard testimony on several bills related to student health and safety, University of Hawaii programs, and workforce development. For SB 2969, which would appropriate funds for the University of Hawaii to expand and sustain the Maui Wildfire Exposure Study and Maui Health Registry, testimony was overwhelmingly supportive. Witnesses described the ongoing physical and mental health impacts of the August 2023 Maui fires, said the study has identified serious untreated conditions and connected participants to care, and emphasized its role in serving survivors and training students. The committee also heard support from the Department of Health, the Alzheimer’s Association, the American Lung Association, Maui residents, and study staff. No vote was taken during the hearing. The committee then heard SB 2657, which would establish an Alzheimer disease and related dementia research center at the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine. University of Hawaii and Alzheimer’s Association representatives supported the bill, saying a local center would improve coordination of existing research, build state capacity, and help Hawaii compete for future NIH designation and federal funding. A family member affected by Alzheimer’s also testified in support, citing the disease’s impact in Hawaii. In response to questions, the university said the proposal would follow a five-year phased plan, with the first year funding used to recruit a senior neuroscientist and staff person, at an estimated cost of about $375,000, and that the effort would still strengthen Hawaii’s research infrastructure even if federal funding is not secured. For SB 2612, which clarifies immunity for Department of Education employees and agents who assist students with medication administration under certain conditions, the Department of Education said the bill is intended to protect volunteers and help ensure students can participate in school activities even when staffing is limited. The committee discussed how volunteers would be selected and whether every school would have someone available, and DOE said schools currently rely on health attendants, nurses, and trained volunteers. The committee also briefly discussed liability language and gross negligence exceptions. The hearing then moved to SB 2412, which would fund a bachelor’s degree program in sign language and sign language interpretation at UH Mānoa with a future master’s pathway. Testimony from interpreters, educators, and university officials emphasized the shortage of interpreters, the need to retain local talent, and the program’s role in building a pipeline; university representatives said the initial request would fund a faculty/staff position as a first step, with additional funding needed later. No final committee action or votes were announced in the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:10:53.839> to Medicare but don't have access to Medicare but don't have access to employer
• to keep their access to healthcare. to keep their access to healthcare.
• healthcare access initiatives. healthcare access initiatives.
• <01:19:39.679> hospital qualifying for critical access hospital qualifying for critical access
• Our OB beds or rural access to care.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This session in order to improve the accessibility, particularly the accessibility.
• We believe it will provide greater access to our members. Thank you.
• Mark Duncans will provide access without undermining constitutional rights.
• I strongly support the public's right to access public records and the intent of IPRA.
• when we really want our citizens to be able to get quick access.

Bills: HB9, HB50

Keywords: Immigrant Safety Act, immigration detention, civil immigration violations, ICE, federal immigration enforcement, sanctuary policy, public bodies, local government, sheriff's department, school district, higher education, deputization, 287(g), 8 U.S.C. 1357(g), 8 C.F.R. 287.7, intergovernmental services agreement, detainer, immigration cooperation, public property, attorney general enforcement

Transcript Highlights:

• The successes over the past few years have demonstrated a critical need for access to virtual hybrid
• Which offer great, uh, students greater access to apprenticeships and work-based learning while still
• For many students and families, this is not only an accessible choice, but it's an essential lifeline
• Um, we ensure that children have access to high quality early learning, and we are here in favor.
• Parents often face barriers to workforce participation due to access to childcare.

Bills: HB117

Keywords: county regulation, impervious cover, land use, unincorporated areas, environmental management

Transcript Highlights:

• WEEDS WITH SENATOR HARRELL, WERE YOU DOING THAT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY, THE UNDERSERVED, GET ACCESS
• THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS THAT THE INDIVIDUALS SERVED BY OUR AGENCY ARE ACCESSING DENTAL SERVICES.
• AND THEN AS I MENTIONED A LOT OF OUR CLIENTS ARE MEDICAID RECIPIENTS THEY ARE ACCESSING DENTAL SERVICES
• SO MAY YOU SEE SOME OF THOSE PROCEDURES BEING ACCESSED THROUGH THE MEDICAID PROGRAM AND THEN OUR AGENCY
• VERY FEW DENTISTS HAVE ACCESS TO THESE FACILITIES BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT GRANT HOSPITAL PRIVILEGES.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• He is actually a critical access hospital administrator from Cody, Wyoming.
• Because if you don't have a health care workforce, you don't have access to health care.
• Critical access hospitals are viable and ultimately thrivable.
• Next, we have just a detail here on the plan for accessing the line of credit.
• We do not plan to access this until it is necessary to support the project needs.

Keywords: 908, all

Summary: The committee was called to order, the roll was taken, and the March 18 minutes were approved. Members then received several project and program updates, beginning with CHI St. Alexius’s behavioral health buildouts in Bismarck, Williston, and Grand Forks. St. Alexius reported that the Bismarck project remains on track for June 2027 completion, with demolition underway and final design work nearing completion. Williston reported construction is progressing, staffing recruitment is underway for psychiatrists and other staff, and an air handler replacement is creating a roughly $750,000 unbudgeted barrier that will slightly delay the timeline. Grand Forks reported its expansion is about 30% complete, with no major barriers beyond weather, and leaders said the project should be substantially complete in the first quarter of 2027. The Department of Health and Human Services then presented a series of budget and program updates. Donna Ockland explained several recent line-item transfers as technical corrections that net to zero and do not require new spending, then reviewed salaries, wages, and FTE counts, noting the department remains within its authorized staffing levels. Pat Rainer followed with an update on the Rural Health Transformation Program, saying 12 opportunities have been posted, 422 applications received, and $8.4 million obligated so far, with a goal of obligating the full $199 million by September. He described grants for workforce retention, rural rotations and housing, community gardens, school wellness, behavioral health promotion, safety net services, equipment, technology, EMS, and other initiatives, emphasizing that the program is intended to be transformational and tied to metrics. Members asked extensive questions about how rural eligibility is defined, how grants will support both rural facilities and hub hospitals, and how future years of funding will build on current awards. The committee also heard an update on certified community behavioral health clinics from Elena Zeller, who said North Dakota has been accepted as a demonstration state, implementation is underway in Williston, North Central/Minot, Fargo, and Dickinson, and care coordination and service counts are increasing. Rebecca Askins then reviewed SNAP payment error rates, saying the 2025 rate was finalized at 9.89%, with the state aiming to get below 6% through policy updates, training, data tools, and a quality assurance team. Members pressed her on the causes of the error rate, the role of the SPACES software system, and the need for accountability and improvements. Finally, Dirk Wilkie reported the state laboratory project reached substantial completion on June 12 and is on budget at about $69.95 million, though a service elevator had to be redesigned because it was too small for equipment.

Transcript Highlights:

• Don't they currently have access to all of that? I'm sorry?
• It would limit access to an officer's file.
• Will the victim's family be able to access them? ...access those files.
• Will the victim's family have access to those files?
• Would that investigator have access to this file?

Bills: SB8, SB4, SB43, SB1, SB2, SB13, SB6, SB10, SB16, SB14, SB3, SB8, SB4, SB43, SB1, SB2, SB13, SB6, SB10, SB16, SB14, SB3

Keywords: education, accountability, public school assessment, state law, transparency, intervention, performance ratings, Texas congressional redistricting, U.S. House districts, congressional map, redistricting, gerrymandering, 2020 Census, census tracts, block groups, voting districts, election law, Texas House of Representatives districts, federal congressional districts, 2026 elections

Transcript Highlights:

• Secretary Armijo talked about all the work that we have done to improve access.
• We've worked very well together, I think, to try and make improvements to access.
• Senator, I have described our access problem as a three-legged stool.
• I'm going to come back to the Healthcare Delivery and Access Act.
• Even if I was in rural New Mexico, would I have had that access?

Transcript Highlights:

• I think they are a very good thing, especially for our critical access hospitals in the state.
• North Dakota communities, a pharmacy is the only locally accessible health care institution.
• And so really we see the five A's of access hold true: affordability, availability, accessibility, accommodation
• However, the pharmacist does not have access to your patient records.
• I too prioritize access to care, and you guys who have heard me testify over the years know that access

Keywords: 908, all

Summary: The committee first took up Senate Bill 2401, which would require physicians to complete continuing education on nutrition and metabolic health as part of the state’s rural health transformation effort. HHS supported the bill, saying it would help physicians better address chronic disease and preserve federal grant points tied to the state’s application. A member of the public also testified in favor, arguing that better nutrition education could improve diabetes outcomes and reduce costs. The committee then adopted an amendment to add the Board of Occupational Therapy Practice to the background-check statute so the occupational therapy compact could proceed, and it passed the bill as amended on a roll call vote. The committee next heard House Bill 1621, which would require the Presidential Fitness Physical Fitness Test in elementary, middle, and high school physical education courses. HHS said the bill was part of the rural health transformation application and could help preserve federal funding, but members raised many questions about the test’s criteria, adaptive options for students with disabilities, equipment needs, and whether the bill should apply to non-public schools. Senator Clemens offered an amendment to limit the requirement to public schools, but it failed. Senator Hogan then offered an amendment to clarify exemptions and allow DPI to align implementation with federal guidance; that amendment passed. A further amendment adding language allowing DPI to establish criteria for and exceptions to the test also passed. The committee then approved the bill as amended on a roll call vote. The committee also considered House Bill 1622, which joins North Dakota to the physician assistant licensure compact. HHS said the compact would improve access to care, especially in rural areas, support military families, and help preserve rural health transformation funding. Members noted the compact had been discussed in a prior session and that many earlier concerns had been resolved. After brief discussion about the compact process and its consistency with other interstate compacts, the committee voted to do pass the bill. Finally, the committee began Senate Bill 2402, which expands pharmacists’ prescriptive authority and therapeutic substitution powers. HHS and the Board of Pharmacy supported the bill as a way to improve access to care and maintain rural health transformation funding. Senator Roers introduced a detailed amendment negotiated with the Board of Medicine and Board of Pharmacy to narrow and clarify the bill, including notification requirements, limits on certain drug categories, and patient-protection language for therapeutic substitution. The Board of Pharmacy then testified in support of the broader bill and explained the CLIA-waived testing provisions and the repeal of the older, narrower pharmacist-testing language. The hearing and amendment discussion were still underway when the transcript ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• They are designed to be accessible to every person.
• They are designed to be accessible to every person.
• What we need to do is allow people access to things. Why do we have this double standard?
• This is a lot more safe and accessible product than things that are otherwise legal.
• This is about a person's access to medicine, and this is about state supremacy.

Bills: SB6, SB7, SB8, SB11, SB12, SB13, SB15, SB17

Keywords: hemp, consumable hemp, hemp-derived cannabinoids, CBD, cannabidiol, CBG, cannabigerol, delta-8, delta-9, intoxicating hemp, hemp gummies, hemp vape, edibles, cannabinoid regulation, hemp licensing, retailer registration, product registration, QR code labeling, child-resistant packaging, minor access

Summary: The committee first took up Senate Bill 8, the Texas Women's Privacy Act, and heard extensive public testimony both for and against the measure. Supporters, including representatives of Texas Values and Texas Values Action, argued the bill was needed to protect women’s privacy and safety in restrooms, locker rooms, showers, prisons, domestic violence shelters, and other government-controlled spaces, and said it would provide clear, sex-based rules. Opponents, including many transgender Texans, civil rights advocates, clergy, business and public safety voices, and others, argued the bill would invite harassment, gender policing, lawsuits, and invasive inspections, while harming trans, intersex, and gender-nonconforming people as well as cisgender women who do not fit stereotypes. Several witnesses said the bill would conflict with federal law or prison standards, worsen safety in shelters and prisons, and hurt Texas’s reputation and economy. The chair repeatedly noted the compressed special-session schedule and said flood relief remained the session’s top priority. Public testimony on SB 8 was eventually closed, and the bill was left pending. The committee then moved to Senate Bill 6, dealing with consumable hemp product restrictions. Testimony on SB 6 focused on whether the bill went too far in restricting hemp-derived THC products. Opponents argued hemp and THC have medical and economic value, that the bill would criminalize conduct and burden courts, and that regulation—not prohibition—was the better approach. Some witnesses supported tighter rules such as testing, child-resistant packaging, and limits on marketing to children, but still opposed the bill’s broad THC ban, higher fees, and age restrictions. Several speakers emphasized benefits for veterans, chronic pain patients, and small businesses, and warned that prohibition would push consumers toward the illicit market. The committee heard the testimony and then continued with additional witnesses, with no final vote or disposition reported in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• So we didn't access any of would pursue. So we didn't access any of that<00:21:40.720> money.
• and access to a good education.
• and access to a good education.
• and access to a good education.
• and access to a good education.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• CS for CS HB 783 will create a Coordinated Access Model pilot program in Duval, Clay, and Saint Johns
• Specifically, the cost of ID cards has always been a hurdle for access.
• This medicine should be accessible.
• So they come to the Access Center.
• People need access to that kind of health care and this is going to eliminate a whole provider.

Transcript Highlights:

• Including childhood obesity, access, evolving nutrient science, and many others.
• If this bill The goal is about giving children access to nutritious options.
• Currently, one in four children in the United States rely on SNAP to access food.
• I believe access to good quality nutrient dense school food is a basic right of education.
• So about half a million children potentially would lose access.

Bills: SB222

Keywords: whole milk, school lunch, school meals, National School Lunch Program, Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, Child Nutrition Act, USDA, nutrition standards, dairy, nonfat milk, low-fat milk, reduced-fat milk, lactose-free milk, nondairy beverages, plant-based milk, milk substitution, parental consent, legal guardian, food allergies, allergic reaction

Summary: This meeting of the committee focused primarily on the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, S222, which aims to permit schools to offer a fuller range of milk options, including whole, reduced, and low-fat varieties, that have garnered bipartisan support. Chairman Bozeman opened the session by highlighting concerns over children's nutrition and the obesity epidemic, emphasizing the significance of nutritious school meals in addressing these issues. Experts from various organizations were invited to discuss the implications of this bill as well as the current challenges facing school meal programs, including budget constraints and food supply issues. The meeting included passionate testimonies about the direct impacts of current dietary guidelines and federal funding reductions affecting schools' abilities to provide healthy meal options.

Transcript Highlights:

• We just keep doubling down and ensuring access to County Veterans Service Officers.
• Last, we must expand retail access to support licenses.
• That means millions of consumers have no access to safe cannabis. legal cannabis.
• This is not just about access, this is about competition. There is not lines out people's doors.
• the talent pipeline with funding that is accessible to everyone in each of our 58 counties.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:03:44.120> to support more kids having access to support more kids having access to preschool
• this program of young kids having access this program of young kids having access to<00:07:13.319
• <01:19:59.360> and what's happening they have access and what's happening they have access
• So that's my comment, thank you. and there's hardly the access to these and there's hardly the access
• and just we got to keep the access and just we got to keep the access available<02:07:21.520>

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• > direct<01:04:26.960> access,<01:04:27.520> but access services via direct access
• , but access services via direct access, but that's<01:04:28.000> the<01:04:28.240> only
• barrier restricts access to health care. barrier restricts access to health care.
• And they made the very same arguments about access and rural access and all of that.
• access and rural access and all of that. access and rural access and all of that.

Bills: HF3521, HF3563, HF82, HF2689, HF1794, HF3544, HF3516, HF1752

Keywords: hospital moratorium, hospital construction, bed capacity, hospital expansion, health care facilities, hospital licensing, safety-net hospital, level I trauma center, Ramsey County, Minnesota health law, hospital beds, new hospital exception, certificate of need, inpatient capacity, emergency care, trauma services, health system regulation, state moratorium, hospital modernization, health infrastructure

Transcript Highlights:

• For example, I'd like to modify my home right now so that it will have a handicap-accessible ramp at
• The Commonwealth still needs to enact a comprehensive policy reform aimed at increasing access to care
• Depending on income and family size, taxpayers can receive up to $10,000 when accessing the state and
• It is supported importantly by AARP, Mass Aging Access, and many aging and disability advocates.
• Boston had a problem a few years ago when they were trying to access funds for job training, when it

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Revenue held a public hearing focused largely on tax-credit proposals tied to children, families, caregivers, child care, health care workforce development, and public health. A major portion of the hearing concerned bills to expand the state earned income tax credit and child and family tax credit, including H. 3073/S. 1957 and S. 1975. Testimony from advocacy groups, legal services, tax assistance organizations, and health providers supported increasing the EITC match from 40% to 50% of the federal credit, expanding eligibility to immigrant and mixed-status ITIN filers, larger families, younger and older workers, and SSI recipients, and raising the child and family tax credit to $600 per child with inflation adjustments and possible advance payments. Witnesses said these changes would reduce poverty, improve health and educational outcomes, and help families meet basic expenses; committee members asked questions about ITIN filers and expressed support for the policy goals. The committee also heard extensive testimony on S. 1938/H. 3159, An Act Supporting Family Caregivers. Speakers described the scale of unpaid caregiving in Massachusetts and supported a package that would create a refundable tax credit, respite vouchers, workplace and housing protections, unemployment insurance access for those who leave work to care for relatives, a permanent advisory council, and a provision allowing spouses to be paid caregivers under MassHealth. Several witnesses shared personal caregiving experiences, and committee members responded favorably, noting the emotional and financial strain on caregivers and the importance of supporting them as Medicaid and long-term care systems face pressure. Additional bills discussed included H. 3174 on a child and dependent care tax credit, which was presented as a way to offset the high cost of child care; H. 3197/S. 2019 to improve the financial security of family child care providers through a tax credit; H. 3218/S. 1960 to create tax credits for health care preceptors to address workforce shortages; S. 2064 to establish a living organ donor tax credit; S. 2034 to promote healthy alternatives to sugary drinks through a tiered tax; H. 3015 to create a tax-return checkoff for the YMCA Youth and Government Program; and several public testimony ideas including vaccination, literacy, and grade-improvement tax credits. No votes or formal committee actions were taken during the hearing, which ended after all testimony was heard.

Transcript Highlights:

• that not everybody was able to access that not everybody was able to access the<00:31:40.320>
• with uh people who have language access with uh people who have language access needs<00:31:52.000
• <00:31:58.640> their and they were not accessing their and they were not accessing their critical
• <00:40:33.119> to heard they are just not accessible to heard they are just not accessible
• to folks accessing health care information. information. information.

Keywords: 927, senate, all