Transcript Highlights:

• He's seen deaths across the state, and he's going to talk to us today.
• The number of deaths increased by 43%.
• Also, the average age of death for kratom overdoses was 39.
• The average age of death for kratom overdoses was 39, which is almost six years younger than deaths by
• So we're just seeing more kratom-only deaths in more recent years.

Committee: Joint Health and Human Services Interim Committee

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> interactions which could include death interactions which could include death and<00:25:39.880><
• </c> from stating on a certificate of death from stating on a certificate of death or<00:59:06.280><c
• death was a homicide, which is death at the hands of another person.
• </c><01:08:49.080><c> to</c> mother and I've also lost a child to mother and I've also lost a child to
• </c><01:08:55.239><c> just</c> that anybody should lose a child just that anybody should lose a child

Committee: House Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs

Summary: The House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs heard Senate Bill 1322, SD2, HD1, a comprehensive measure revising Hawaii’s mental health code. The bill would clarify emergency transportation, examination, and hospitalization procedures for people who may be mentally ill or suffering from substance abuse and deemed imminently dangerous, expand notice requirements, allow certain information-sharing for assisted community treatment petitions, and add liability protections for emergency responders and providers. The Department of the Attorney General supported the bill as a collaborative update to the law, while the Department of Health asked for a copy of provider-generated emergency transport documentation within five days for data and planning purposes. Testimony was sharply divided. Queen’s Health System, Hawaiʻi Pacific Health, HHSC, and the Institute for Human Services supported the measure or parts of it but requested amendments, including clarifying whether a second psychiatric exam is required, restoring a 72-hour rather than 48-hour stabilization window, and adjusting where patients are taken when an MEO cannot be reached. The ACLU of Hawaiʻi strongly opposed the bill, arguing it weakens due process and civil liberties, especially around involuntary commitment, assisted community treatment, emergency transport by police, and reduced procedural safeguards; it urged the committee to hold the bill and consider an interim working group. Louie E.K. of the Hawaiʻi Disability Rights Center also opposed the bill, focusing on immunity from negligence, the use of police for transport, and the reduction of a three-provider review to one in state-hospital treatment orders. Other testimony included support from an individual who said the bill could improve mental health care delivery amid provider shortages, and a comment from Hawaiʻi Health and Harm Reduction Center warning that the substance use portion of the bill lacks evidence of effectiveness and could be misused. In response to committee questions, the Attorney General’s office said the measure was developed with input from multiple stakeholders, including state agencies, hospitals, the ACLU, HHSC, and IHS, and that it aims to make assisted community treatment more accessible and effective by streamlining the legal process and improving consequences for noncompliance. No vote or final action was taken during the portion of the meeting provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• , sudden and unexplained infant death.
• child has taken.
• child has taken. 15 seconds.
• Making sure that the child is safe and protected.
• Making sure that the child is safe and protected and not demonized. Thank you. Thank you.

Committees: House Government , House House Government Committee of Reference

Transcript Highlights:

• Leader Pizzo: I was a yes vote on the death penalty last year. It's 48, by the way.
• This bill does not make any crime subject to the mandatory death penalty.
• The death penalty would be appropriate. I ask you to think about that.
• But I seek the death penalty for someone who committed the crime of molestation or murder?
• Couldn't get that if the death penalty is mandatory. So here is where we are.

Bills: SJR36 , SR8 , SR14 , SR15 , SR17 , HCR54

Transcript Highlights:

• This chart counts those deaths by year. ...and 2021. This chart counts those deaths by year.
• This slide illustrates the breakdown of suicide deaths by profession.
• a day in group care for one child, there's a real disparity there.
• So the way I understand it is that per child per month, census count could be a child being in services
• for one day or a child being in services for 30 days.

Committee: Senate Children, Families, and Elder Affairs

Summary: The committee heard a presentation from Dr. Kelly O’Dare on first responder behavioral health access, peer support, and suicide prevention. She described UCF Restores, the Second Alarm Project, and related partnerships that provide culturally competent treatment, peer training, clinician education, disaster response support, and behavioral health navigation. She cited survey and state data showing significant rates of sleep problems, anxiety, depression, substance use, and suicide among Florida first responders, and said evidence-based treatment has helped many patients recover, including a reported 76% who no longer met PTSD diagnostic criteria after treatment. Senators asked about measuring outcomes, peer support standards, and whether the state should create more consistent statewide requirements; O’Dare said peer support training must be specialized, linked to higher levels of care, and supported by sustainable funding and statewide coordination. The committee also heard from a public commenter who supported the work and emphasized the need for adequate resources and peer support infrastructure. The committee then received a Department of Children and Families presentation from Casey Penn on the proposed funding methodology for community-based care lead agencies under HB 7089. Penn explained that the new model is intended to be actuarially based, reimbursement-oriented, and more transparent than prior funding approaches, using historical expenditures, standardized reporting, and two main tiers: Tier 1 for largely fixed administrative and operational costs, and Tier 2 for direct child-serving costs based on per-child-per-month blended rates. He said the model includes a 2% risk corridor for Tier 2, hold-harmless funding in the first year, and optional Tier 3 performance incentives, with an estimated additional state appropriation need after offsets. Senators raised concerns about prevention, historical inequities, reasonableness of costs, administrative overhead, blended state and federal funds, adoption subsidies, high-acuity placements, and disaster-related disruptions. Penn said some of those issues could be addressed in future iterations as the child welfare information system is modernized, and he agreed to provide written responses to committee questions. Representatives of the Florida Coalition for Children and CBCs responded that the model is a major improvement but urged additional safeguards, including an administrative cap, clearer separation of direct and indirect costs, and better treatment of federal and pass-through funds. They argued that the system already has oversight and that deficits reflect insufficient appropriations rather than excess spending, while also noting that higher-acuity children and regional differences can drive costs. No votes were taken on either topic, and the meeting ended with committee staff introductions and adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• If they cannot afford child care now, being able to deduct their child care costs will not help them.
• If you can afford child care, those who can afford the most expensive child care might get $900 back
• I don't see any direct lines at all, because the child care, child care normally does help with jobs.
• Now people who are paying for child care are apparently wealthy, just by virtue of paying for child care
• The child tax credit was attacked.

Transcript Highlights:

• So focusing on strategies that improve, well, child visits chronic disease management and prenatal care
• or fetal death.
• You don't know, need to know everything is just what is needed to take care of that individual child
• to that individual child.
• They will continue to do the Child Abuse Death Review unit, the child Protection teams, the CMS, the

Transcript Highlights:

• death.
• "Medical examiner's office is already doing infant or child death. Healed the questions.
• So they're already tracking the immunization record of the child?"
• death. he held a question.
• Medical examiner's office is already doing infant or child death. Healed the questions.

Bills: SB1983 , SB444 , SB1503 , SB1561 , SB592 , SB1501 , SB1946 , SB1567 , SB1833 , SB2026 , SB904 , SB2178 , SB1651 , SB1558 , SB1565 , SB1553 , SB1257 , SB65 , SB1749 , SB1242 , SB1642 , SB640 , SB667 , SB1436 , SB1484 , SB1562 , SB1794 , SB1644 , SB1533 , SB933 , SB1555

Committee: House Health and Human Services Oversight

Summary: The committee opened with prayer and then heard a long series of Senate bills, many of them agency request or cleanup measures. Early bills included SB 1983, directing DHS to provide foster care data to resource family partners to better identify foster family needs; SB 444, allowing hospice personnel to control or destroy controlled substances after a patient’s death; and SB 1503, a PCS related to pregnancy resource center outreach and in-state referrals, which drew discussion about virtual versus face-to-face support and was reported out after members agreed to continue working on the language. Other measures advanced included SB 1561 on progressive discipline for certain M.T.M.S. personnel, SB 592 and SB 1946 on alcohol-related licensing/sales issues, SB 1501 and SB 1567 as cleanup or implementation bills, and SB 1833 codifying a SNAP waiver barring candy and soft drinks purchases. The committee also considered several health and human services bills. SB 2026 expanded access to military discharge papers to grandchildren; SB 904 addressed public funds and state facilities, with members raising concerns about legislative interference in medical decision-making and liability; SB 2178 modified alcohol licensing insurance requirements; SB 1651 updated Oklahoma Medical Board license language; SB 1558 clarified the definition of a child for level E group homes; SB 1565 promoted Food is Medicine efforts to improve maternal and infant outcomes; and SB 1553 required psychologist review of appealed adverse determinations involving mental health claims. SB 1257, with a policy recommendation, expanded THC/controlled substance language to align with federal guidelines, and SB 1749 made a cleanup change related to food trailers and LP gas inspections. Later in the meeting, the committee advanced SB 65 with a policy amendment adding fentanyl and xylazine test strips; SB 1242, which included OMMA education and abandoned grow cleanup provisions; SB 1642, allowing shorter acute prescriptions to help reduce addiction risk; SB 640, treating abandoned grow facilities as public nuisances so local governments can abate them; SB 667, clarifying accreditation language for chiropractic programs; SB 1436, requiring hospitals to provide information on obtaining records after stillbirth or miscarriage; SB 1484, codifying medical examiner practices in infant or child deaths; SB 1562, addressing hospice patient solicitation; SB 1794, creating a mental health bed-availability database; SB 1644, seeking data on alpha-gal syndrome to support federal research funding; SB 1533, ensuring burial assistance for Oklahoma veterans who die out of state; SB 933, creating a right-to-try pathway for individualized treatments; and SB 1555, aligning the definition of intellectual disability with federal law. Most bills were reported out do pass, with recorded votes ranging from unanimous to a few nays on some measures. SB 1304 was laid over, and the committee adjourned at the end of the meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• So, um, we always report on deaths in custody every month. Um, we've been doing that since 2022.
• So, um, we always report on deaths in custody every month. Um, we've been doing that since 2022.

Bills: HB389 , HB1166 , HB1510 , HB1541 , HB1605 , HB1661 , HB1663 , HB1678 , HB1769 , HB1785 , HB1801 , HB1802 , HB1815 , HB1824 , HB1838 , HB1840 , HB1853 , HB1860 , HB1891 , HB1952 , HB1960 , HB1969 , HB1970 , HB1972 , HB1976 , HB2050 , HB2094 , HB2104 , HB2158 , HB2165 , HB2171 , HB2208 , HB2246 , HB2271 , HB2300 , HB2310 , HB2315 , HB2319 , HB2338 , HB2339 , HB2343 , HB2443 , HB2498 , HB2551 , HB2599 , HB2606 , SB17 , SB83 , SB99 , SB148 , SB411 , SB709 , SB847 , SB874 , SB888 , SB1032 , SB1166 , SB2001 , SB2014 , SB2031 , SB2041 , SB2050 , SB2057 , SB2061 , SB2074 , SB2075 , SB2089 , SB2095 , SB2101 , SB2102 , SB2108 , SB2109 , SB2110 , SB2125 , SB2135 , SB2138 , SB2140 , SB2146 , SB2151 , SB2152 , SB2175 , SB2203 , SB2239 , SB2246 , SB2247 , SB2253 , SB2261 , SB2268 , SB2271 , SB2272 , SB2320 , SB2340 , SB2347 , SB2353 , SB2363 , SB2367 , SB2372 , SB2376 , SB2386

Keywords: HB389, uncrewed aircraft, drone, drones, UAS, unmanned aerial vehicle, misuse of uncrewed aircraft, criminal offense, felony enhancement, drone crime, public safety, police, deputy sheriff, fire department, intoxicated operation, registration number tampering, property damage, bodily injury, Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Package, Hawaii Revised Statutes

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm actually on family leave with my new child.
• have your child intubated?
• </c><01:32:21.600><c> has</c> um in Potter syndrome the child has um in Potter syndrome the child has
• This is an elective death of a baby. I feel bad for women that lose children.
• This is an elective death of a baby. I feel bad for women that lose children.

Committee: House Health Finance and Policy

Transcript Highlights:

• pornography to victimization of each child.
• pornography per child.
• On child pornography, right? Because that shocks the conscience.
• His death was ruled a homicide, but no one was held accountable.
• It's about life and death.

Bills: AB275 , SB371 , SB457

Committee: Assembly Judiciary

Transcript Highlights:

• Imagine if it was you or your child who had been wrongfully sentenced to life in prison or even death
• My son, and every other incarcerated child, deserves a hug.
• A hug should not depend on the zip code of where a child is detained.
• from officer-involved shootings and in-custody deaths drop significantly.
• Deaths are occurring at record levels.

Committee: Senate Public Safety

Transcript Highlights:

• Sexual abuse of a young child or disabled individual, indecency with a child, sexual assault, aggravated
• , or possession or promotion of child pornography.
• If you don't take a child soon enough, tragedy happens.
• If you take a child, you know, if you take a child too late, tragedy happens.
• The issue is the abuse of a child, right?

Bills: HB 1106 , HB3284 , HB541 , HB713 , HB1403 , HB1586 , HB1942 , HB2070 , HB2844 , HB2851 , HB3151 , HB3749 , HB3940 , HB3963 , HB4454 , HB4466 , HB4795 , HB5154 , HB5394 , SB1357 , HB 1052 , HB4099 , HB4638 , HB5147

Committee: Senate Health & Human Services

Transcript Highlights:

• . deaths. deaths.
• </c> child or others. child or others.
• A<02:36:29.280><c> child</c> A child A child shall<02:36:30.800><c> not</c><02:36:30.843><c> [clears
• </c> the child or others. the child or others.
• Family Services Division of DCF, Vermont Family Services Division of DCF, Vermont Child Child Child &

Transcript Highlights:

• , and 87% of these deaths were preventable.
• A Harvard study said that homicide deaths among pregnant women are more prevalent than deaths from hypertension
• A HARVARD STUDY SAID THAT HOMICIDE DEATHS AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN ARE MORE PREVALENT THAN DEATHS FROM HYPERTENSION
• These deaths are rooted in racism.
• These deaths are rooted in racism.

Bills: SCR29 , HB7380 , HB5200 , HB1681 , SB98 , HB5201 , HR1343 , HB7022 , HB7386

Keywords: internet freedom, Iran, cybersecurity, VPN, DTC technology, information access, human rights, digital tools, Emergency Reporting Act, FCC, Federal Communications Commission, Disaster Information Reporting System, DIRS, network outage reporting, outage notifications, 9-1-1, public safety answering point, PSAP, emergency communications center, broadband

Transcript Highlights:

• also if the child center appropriately also if the child center appropriately responded<00:03:16.720>
• </c><00:04:52.160><c> care</c> actions to assist uh new child care actions to assist uh new child care
• in child care and um she was trapped in child care and um she was trapped between<00:07:22.000><c> the
• So my after a death but a prevention.
• </c> dealing with children and child welfare. dealing with children and child welfare.

Committee: Senate Families & Children

Transcript Highlights:

• If the death of an applicant is confirmed, the authority shall deny the applicant Medicaid funding.
• If the death of an applicant is confirmed, the authorities shall deny the applicant for Medicare funding
• The way I am envisioning this is that they had been receiving them, but upon death, the agency had never
• been notified of the death.
• Members, Senate Bill 1436 aims to ensure that families experiencing a fetal death or miscarriage are

Bills: SB1328 , SB1380 , SB1436 , SB1558 , SB1572 , SB1651 , SB1805 , SB1831 , SB1836 , SB2014 , SB2023 , SB2044 , SB2179 , SB933

Committee: Senate Health and Human Services

Summary: The Health and Human Services Committee met to consider a series of Senate bills, beginning with SB 2014, which would allow ivermectin to be sold over the counter with FDA approval. After questions about whether a prescription would still be required and how FDA guidance would affect the law, the bill passed 9-3. SB 1805, as amended, barred detention and youth facilities from using temporary agencies or contracting organizations for staffing; the author said the change was intended to address transparency and records issues in a related lawsuit. That bill passed 12-0. SB 2044, also amended, clarified chiropractic-related language regarding serum and multiple vitamins; members discussed whether the bill changed scope of practice, and it passed 10-2. The committee then approved SB 1836, which requires a board-approved mental health screener during routine annual primary care visits. The author said it was meant to normalize mental health screening and noted an updated fiscal impact estimate of $284,000 to $560,000; some members raised concerns about mandates and cost, but the bill passed 8-4. SB 1380 would require the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to verify Medicaid eligibility against death records and conduct monthly death-record checks for enrollees; after questions about current practice, costs, and recoupment from deceased enrollees, the author requested title be stricken, and the bill passed 10-2. SB 2179, dealing with not-guilty-by-reason-of-mental-illness cases, adds staff accompaniment for therapeutic visits, requires structured violence-risk assessments before discharge or conditional release, and adds drug screening when substance-use monitoring is ordered; Department of Mental Health staff testified about treatment planning and monitoring, and the bill passed 11-1. Later, the committee passed SB 1436, which requires families to be informed of their right to certification after fetal death or miscarriage, and SB 1558, which clarifies that older youth in OJA custody may be placed in Level E group homes. SB 933, the “Right to Try for Individualized Treatment Act,” passed 11-0 and would allow certain terminally ill patients to seek individualized investigational treatments after informed consent. SB 1651, an Oklahoma Medical Board cleanup bill covering several licensed professions, also passed 11-0. Finally, SB 1328 modernizes parental access to minor medical records with safeguards for abuse situations, and SB 1572 removes the DHS and OJA directors from the OCCY board; both passed 11-0. The committee adjourned after noting a possible interim meeting for a Tier 1 nomination.

Transcript Highlights:

• Relative to child welfare, to provide for the duties and responsibilities of the state child ombudsman
• interviews, to provide for definitions, to provide for mandatory reporter training, to provide for child
• It's not necessarily the physician that has seen, physically seen, the child, but a medical provider
• Amendment number 30, this was very specific in terms of if there is a supposed moment of child-to-child
• is to make a difference and save every child.

Bills: SB237

Committee: House Health and Welfare

Transcript Highlights:

• informed us that they were closing their investigation because the manner of death on the death certificate
• Jake's death was not an accident. He was killed, literally poisoned to death.
• There were no Texas murder charges for deaths from one fentanyl-laced pill.
• They just lost their child to fentanyl.
• And attack the global criminal networks fueling these American deaths.

Committee: Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee

Keywords: Coast Guard, maritime drug enforcement, illegal drugs, fentanyl crisis, legislative reforms, public testimony

Summary: The meeting of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation addressed critical issues surrounding maritime drug enforcement and the Coast Guard's role in stopping the influx of illegal drugs. The chairman highlighted the alarming consequences of current policies allowing drugs to cross borders, emphasizing the need for legislative reforms, such as the Coast Guard Reauthorization Act of 2025. There was an intense discussion regarding the operational challenges faced by the Coast Guard, which has recently made significant drug seizures, indicating progress but also revealing gaps that need addressing. Several witnesses, including victims of the drug crisis, shared their compelling testimonies, which underscored the urgency for stricter controls and comprehensive support for law enforcement agencies involved in drug interdiction efforts.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> to child abuse to report us for child to child abuse to report us for child abuse<00:08:31.280><
• Protective Services report to have our child removed from our home. contact with our minor minor child
• What their heart is, is that no child is left behind.
• that this child can have any parental rights or a parent to sign a death certificate.
• child child dies<00:38:13.119><c> what</c><00:38:13.680><c> what</c><00:38:13.839><c> their</c><00:38

Summary: The Senate Standing Committee on Families and Children heard Senate Bill 181, which would require school districts to use only traceable forms of communication for staff, coaches, and volunteers when contacting students, require reporting of known private direct communication, notify parents, protect minors’ anonymity in EPSB investigations, and extend the investigation period for sexual misconduct cases to 120 days. Senator Lindsay Tichenor said the bill is meant to restore safeguards for children and families and address inappropriate private communications between school personnel and students. The committee also heard testimony from Stacy and Brad Brisco, who described allegations that an Anderson County guidance counselor had communicated privately with their daughter, encouraged her to pursue emancipation and CPS involvement, and used school channels to facilitate contact; they said the resulting abuse report was unsubstantiated and that the school system and EPSB had not acted promptly. Ashley Nation also testified in support as a survivor of educator sexual abuse, arguing that traceable communication policies are needed to prevent grooming and misconduct and that the bill does not stop communication, only makes it transparent and accountable. Members asked questions about what counts as traceable communication and whether schools already have policies. Tichenor said traceable communication could include paper notes, email, and apps such as ClassDojo or Google Classroom, and said the bill requires a trail parents can access. She also said some districts have ethical standards but they are not consistently followed, and that state-level action is needed. Senator Denine suggested the bill should allow districts more flexibility to choose among trackable platforms, noting that some systems already use tools like Dojo and Remind; Tichenor said a floor amendment would address that concern. Senators Williams, Meredith, Mills, Wise, and others voiced support, emphasizing child safety and the need for timely EPSB action. The committee then voted 9-0 to pass SB 181 with a favorable recommendation to the Senate floor. Afterward, the committee took up House Bill 242, sponsored by Representative Samara Heavrin, which would increase transparency in the child welfare system by making Kentucky child welfare data available to researchers while preserving privacy protections. With no questions, the committee approved HB 242 as well, also by a favorable vote, and members briefly noted support for the bill and the need for better data to inform child welfare policy.