Transcript Highlights:

• Classifying our correctional nurses as Group 4 is truly a matter of equity and fairness for some of the
• It would be easier for us because managing a workforce, whether you're having to fill shifts, is really
• And by the way, one thing I will add: if you consider it as a matter of gender equity, most of the Group
• This legislation makes a thoughtful and balanced approach to addressing workforce shortages.
• I'm also a approach to public safety and workforce development.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The committee heard testimony on several retirement and workforce-related bills. House Bill 2980 would place county correctional nurses and certain medical staff into Group 4 retirement. Representative Trino, Middlesex Sheriff Peter Koutoujian, and nurse manager Leanne Cameron argued that correctional nurses work in dangerous, high-stress settings with frequent contact with incarcerated people, high rates of mental illness and substance use in the jail population, and significant workplace violence, and that the change would help recruitment and retention with limited statewide fiscal impact. The committee also heard Senate Bill 210, which would create a commission to study additional regular compensation and annual expenses for members of the General Court. Senator John Keenan said Massachusetts has high leadership stipends compared with other states and argued the current structure can affect independence and public trust. Representative O'Day testified on House Bill 2928 to extend Group 2 retirement to additional Department of Children and Families social workers, and SEIU 509 witnesses described frequent transport of children, crisis response, threats, assaults, and other high-risk duties that they said match Group 2 work. Additional testimony supported House Bill 2943 for DDS service coordinators and supervisors, with witnesses describing home visits in unsafe conditions, transport of vulnerable individuals, direct care during staffing crises, and exposure to violence. House Bill 2899 drew support from the Association of Social Work Boards for social work field placement grants, incentives for supervisors, and expanded retirement benefits for DCF social workers. The committee also heard Senate Bill 2613, a local retirement bill for Salem police officer Kathleen Roachville, who described a severe line-of-duty injury during an arrest involving a combative person in a mental health crisis. Finally, Susan Smith Campbell testified for reclassifying certain DYS administrative officers into Group 2 because of their direct involvement in restraints, assaults, and crisis management. After testimony concluded, the committee adjourned without taking any votes.

Transcript Highlights:

• , you do receive that equity.
• um you do receive entitled to equity um you do receive that<01:32:43.199> equity.
• If that's their equity, it's their equity, and the state has no right to it.
• , got that equity.
• If that's their equity, got that equity.

Keywords: 981, all

Summary: The House convened, established a quorum, and approved the journal from March 4, 2026. Members then made a series of announcements recognizing visiting groups, including emergency managers, community health centers, the Colorado Chamber Alliance, medical equipment providers, the League of Women Voters, and upcoming committee meetings and Denver Zoo Day. The chamber also moved several bills to special orders later in the day. The House then took up third reading of several bills. House Bill 1026, expanding plan options for the Public Employees Retirement Association, passed 49-13. House Bill 102, concerning access to behavioral health providers and licensure for clinical social workers, passed 51-13. House Bill 1205, updating state law to reflect federal good neighbor authority agreements, passed 63-1. House Bill 1145, on water quality and mobile home parks, passed 42-12. House Bill 107, improving use of distributed energy resources, passed 48-16. House Bill 1127, requiring a report after fatal motor vehicle crashes, passed 42-22. House Bill 1277, continuing the kidney disease prevention and education task force, passed unanimously 64-0. The chamber then considered House Bill 1081, which would require utilities to evaluate advanced transmission technologies to improve Colorado’s electric transmission system. Members debated amendments, including L007 and L004, both of which were adopted, while L006 was rejected. Supporters said the bill would help reduce costs, improve reliability, and better use existing infrastructure; opponents of L006 argued it would add unnecessary mandates and costs. After amendment, House Bill 1081 passed. The House also took up House Bill 1228, creating an additional pathway to licensure for marriage and family therapists, which passed unanimously. House Bill 1120, implementing mobile home taxation task force recommendations to protect mobile homeowners’ equity and align tax sale procedures with constitutional requirements, was then considered; the finance committee report was adopted, and debate continued on a proposed amendment as the transcript ended.

Transcript Highlights:

• a more effective educator workforce a more effective educator workforce center<00:39:20.000>
• decided that our educator workforce decided that our educator workforce center<00:39:47.119>
• Um this telecommunications equity aid.
• <00:56:30.799> aid<00:56:31.359> by telecom equity aid by telecom equity aid by 750,000
• They they they don't have and equity.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Sam Gordon with Tech Equity, here in support. Thank you. Good morning.
• Sam Gordon with Tech Equity, here in support. Thank you.
• No, they're independent. ...a private equity firm, although they're independent.
• And that same private equity firm also bought up the San Diego Tribune.
• This threatens the survival of our already strained health care workforce.

Summary: The committee heard testimony on several bills related to reproductive access, child safety online, immigration enforcement in schools, health privacy, location data, digital provenance, reparations, and age assurance. AB 54 would protect the medication abortion supply chain and shield providers and others from liability; AB 1137 would strengthen reporting and enforcement tools for child sexual abuse material on social media; AB 49 would limit ICE activity at California public schools; AB 82 would expand privacy and safety protections for gender-affirming care patients and providers; AB 1355 would restrict the collection, use, and sale of precise location data; AB 853 would expand provenance requirements for AI-generated and authentic content; AB 62 would create a pathway for restitution for racially biased eminent domain takings; and AB 1043 would create a device-based age assurance framework for online services. Supporters generally framed the bills as necessary responses to current harms: reproductive rights advocates emphasized California’s role as a safe haven; child safety witnesses described the persistence and re-victimization caused by CSAM online; immigrant rights and education advocates said schools should remain safe from immigration enforcement; health and LGBTQ+ advocates stressed privacy and safety risks tied to tracking and harassment; privacy and consumer groups backed limits on location data and stronger provenance tools; and reparations advocates said AB 62 would help address historic injustices. Opposition came from family policy, tech, business, law enforcement, and industry groups, who raised concerns about safety claims, constitutional issues, implementation burdens, transparency, law enforcement access, and the need to preserve existing privacy frameworks and voluntary standards. The committee members largely expressed support for the policy goals while noting implementation concerns on some measures. Several members asked for or were offered coauthor status on bills. AB 1137, AB 54, AB 49, AB 82, AB 1355, AB 853, and AB 62 all received do-pass votes to Appropriations, with some members voting no or not voting on certain bills. AB 1355 and AB 853 were advanced with amendments or ongoing work promised with opponents, and AB 1043 was presented with discussion of possible amendments on parental consent and age assurance details, though the transcript cuts off before final action on that bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• It's the uncertainty and the concern of the investor, your equity source and your lender.
• The State of Texas needs to find a way to come in and provide workforce housing in areas where it is
• The Chair calls Kathy Mitchell, self, equity. action against the bill.
• If you would just repeat it for the record, yes, testifying on behalf of myself and Equity Action.
• 2027, the OAG's future workforce could experience potentially significant changes to its composition

Bills: HB21, HB211, HB223

Keywords: HB 21, Texas Tax Code, ad valorem tax, property tax, delinquent taxes, tax delinquency, penalty reduction, interest rate, split payment, installment payment, tax relief, county tax collector, taxing unit, property owner, tax collection, voter-approval tax rate, no-new-revenue tax rate, tax increase election, supermajority, 60 percent threshold

Transcript Highlights:

• This is a district bill which would direct California's Labor and Workforce Development Agency to work
• What does the Labor and Workforce Development Agency bring to this that local initiatives do not, and
• business centers leveraged approximately $278.2 million in capital, including loans, grants, and equity
• The reality is simple: we already have a workforce that is trained, The reality is simple: we already
• have a workforce that is trained, qualified, and ready to provide this care, but they are restricted

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Summary: The committee began with announcements about consent items and then heard AB 72, which would create an electric vehicle economic opportunity zone in Riverside County. Supporters said the bill would help bring EV manufacturing jobs and training to the Inland Empire, while some senators questioned whether the state should favor one region over others and whether local economic development groups should handle the effort. The bill was passed on a roll call vote and sent to Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement. Members then took up AB 685, which would establish the Small Business Resiliency and Innovation Fund to support technical assistance and capital infusion programs for small businesses. The author and supporters emphasized the importance of TAP and related programs for women-owned, minority-owned, immigrant-owned, veteran-owned, and rural businesses, while some chambers of commerce raised concerns about amended eligibility language and whether the funding would be truly supplemental. After discussion, the bill was passed and sent to Senate Appropriations. The committee also approved ACR 173 on a 7-0 vote, and consent items AB 375 and AB 1587 were adopted 10-0. Later, AB 1760, a Dental Practice Act cleanup bill, and AB 1637, which would limit who may alter physician-authored medical records, both passed unanimously. AB 1785, allowing online sales of pseudoephedrine products with existing safeguards, also passed 10-0. AB 1973, expanding abortion-care authority for advanced practice clinicians, drew strong support and opposition and passed 7-3 after senators raised safety and training questions. AB 2025, requiring disclosures for digitally altered rental listings, passed 8-1, and AB 2697, allowing locally approved drive-through cannabis sales with security requirements, passed 7-3. The committee then heard AB 2249, which would tighten cannabis packaging rules to reduce child appeal, and the author described it as a response to poison-control calls and an audit finding that current law is too vague.

Transcript Highlights:

• Drowning is an issue of equity. 79% of children in households with income less than $1,000 than $50,000
• And so this bill to me is a necessary step toward turning our state's commitment to equity into real
• We're a statewide organization that's dedicated to advancing equity and well-being by addressing the
• Equity means recognizing the diverse needs of all students, not simply imposing blanket restrictions.
• I rely upon our well-trained workforce in the classrooms to make sure that our children stay safe.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• emerging high-cost prescription drugs and economic factors such as the cost of medical care and workforce
• On behalf of our public county workforce, we represent and want to just second the comments made by my
• Finally, the department is continuing to expand the workforce and the practitioners that can provide
• Finally, the department is continuing to expand the workforce and the practitioners that can provide
• Building workforce capacity and creating a sustainable funding source has been a priority of CYBHI.

Summary: The committee heard a budget oversight hearing on the Department of Health Care Services, focusing first on the overall Medi-Cal budget and a March General Fund loan to cover a current-year shortfall. DHCS said the 2025-26 budget proposal totals $193.4 billion, with Medi-Cal projected at $188.1 billion total funds and $42.1 billion General Fund, driven by higher enrollment, pharmacy costs, managed care growth, and costs tied to eligibility expansions and the COVID-era redetermination unwinding. The department said the $3.44 billion loan was needed to manage cash flow and ensure timely payments to providers and plans, while the LAO noted Medi-Cal’s cash-basis budgeting creates volatility and that more detailed estimates would come with the May Revision. Members discussed federal Medicaid threats, the need for transparency on cost drivers, and the impact of pharmacy spending, long-term care, and immigration-related coverage expansions. The second major topic was family health programs, including California Children’s Services, the continuous coverage unwinding, and opioid settlement fund spending. DHCS described CCS funding methodology changes, ongoing county stakeholder work, and a delayed rollout of CCS monitoring and oversight until July 1, 2025, while county representatives and advocates argued the program is underfunded and asked for more technical assistance and a delay in implementation. On the unwinding, the department explained that federal redetermination flexibilities helped maintain coverage after the pandemic, but the Governor’s budget proposes ending them at the end of June 2025; advocates urged making the flexibilities permanent to avoid coverage losses. For opioid settlement funds, DHCS and Finance said the budget increases funding for naloxone distribution while reducing other harm-reduction spending based on updated settlement revenues, prompting criticism from members and public commenters who argued the change would weaken effective harm-reduction programs. The hearing also included an update on Proposition 35 implementation. DHCS said the voter-approved measure continuously appropriates MCO tax revenues beginning in 2025, with up to $4.6 billion annually available for specified Medi-Cal and provider investments in 2025 and 2026, but implementation depends on consultation with the required stakeholder advisory committee. The department and LAO noted uncertainty about future federal rules affecting the MCO tax after 2026. Public testimony largely supported maintaining Medi-Cal expansions, protecting immigrant coverage, preserving harm-reduction funding, and increasing support for community health workers, pediatric dental care, and CCS county administration. No votes were taken during the portion of the hearing provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• YOU SPOKE ABOUT THE FACT THAT YOU ARE LOOKING AT WAYS TO DEVELOP THE WORKFORCE AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
• ARE YOU WORKING WITH THE WORKFORCE BOARDS IN THESE AND ALSO THIS POPULATION IN GENERAL NEEDS A JOB COACH
• AND ARE YOU AFFILIATING YOURSELF WITH THAT NETWORK IN DR AND THESE WORKFORCE BOARDS?
• FIRST THERE WAS THE EQUITY MODEL THAT HAS BEEN OUTLINED IN STATUTE SINCE 2011.
• THE FLUCTUATION CAN BE ITEMS SUCH AS SALARIES, WORKFORCE BENEFITS, INSURANCE OR COSTS, SECOND, THE KEY

Transcript Highlights:

• In places like Somerville, we have Wall Street investors and private equity firms outcompeting first-time
• for not only the Wampanoag community, workforce housing, and the elderly community here on Martha's
• And meanwhile, our year-round workforce, the very people who keep the island safe and functioning, are
• Our organization has created and stewarded housing for the island's year-round workforce in that time
• I live in a workforce housing subdivision on Nantucket.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Revenue held a public hearing on a series of bills focused largely on local-option real estate transfer fees and housing funding tools for communities facing severe affordability pressures. Testimony strongly favored bills for Somerville, Concord, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Chatham, and a statewide local-option transfer fee, with speakers arguing that high-end real estate transactions should help fund affordable housing, anti-displacement efforts, workforce housing, and related capital improvements. Elected officials and local housing leaders described rising rents and home prices, investor activity, shrinking year-round housing stock, and difficulty recruiting or retaining teachers, police, health care workers, and other essential employees. Several witnesses emphasized that the proposals would be optional for municipalities, could include exemptions for first-time homebuyers or seniors, and would direct revenue into local affordable housing trust funds or housing banks. Committee members asked questions about who would pay the fee and whether it could make housing less affordable, and supporters responded that the fees would be targeted at higher-value transactions and designed with local flexibility. For Somerville, the delegation and Mayor Katjana Ballantyne backed both a local home rule petition and statewide enabling legislation, saying the city has already used zoning reform, inclusionary zoning, and local housing funds but still needs a new revenue source to address displacement and investor-driven purchases. For Concord, Representative Carmine Gentile and Concord housing advocates supported a home rule petition and the statewide bill, arguing that a modest fee on sales above $1 million could generate predictable revenue for affordable housing production and preservation. One committee exchange focused on whether the fee would affect most Concord sales and whether it would be passed on to buyers; supporters said the policy was intended to shift costs toward higher-value properties and help leverage other funding sources. The committee also heard testimony on House 4105, which would redirect a casino-related revenue stream to the Healthy Incentives Program. Farmers, advocates, and residents said the current funding was originally intended to support horse racing but has not met that goal, and that the money would be better used to support Massachusetts farmers and food-insecure residents through HIP. In a separate bill, Senator Becca Rausch testified in support of Senate 268, which would create a state-level hostile learning environment complaint process for higher education institutions and potentially strip tax exemptions from colleges or universities found to have such environments; she cited anti-Semitic and transphobic incidents on campuses and argued that existing federal protections should be mirrored in state law. The hearing also included testimony on college tuition debt reduction legislation from Senator Michael Moore, who said the bill would allow a deduction for tuition and fees paid to Massachusetts public colleges and universities to ease student debt and support the state’s workforce. A major portion of the hearing focused on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket housing bank proposals. Hospital, school, housing, planning, and municipal officials from Martha’s Vineyard said the island’s year-round housing shortage is harming health care, schools, and the local workforce, and urged approval of a housing bank funded by a local-option transfer fee. Nantucket witnesses made similar arguments, pointing to a very high median home price, a large seasonal housing stock, and the need for a dedicated revenue stream to preserve and create year-round housing. Supporters repeatedly cited the long-running success of the islands’ land banks as evidence that transfer fees can work without harming real estate markets. Senator Julian Cyr and Representative Thomas Moakley Luddy also backed the Cape and Islands transfer-fee bills, saying the region needs bold action and a sustainable local funding source to address its housing crisis.

Transcript Highlights:

• We want to protect people from discrimination in the workforce.
• The long-term care workforce is shrinking and struggling to attract and retain talent.
• Massachusetts has long been a leader in health care innovation and equity, but we are falling behind
• Preceptorship can strengthen workforce development and reduce staff turnover.
• Preceptorship can strengthen workforce development and reduce staff turnover.

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's what we call intergenerational equity.
• We significant intergenerational equity.
• This is a intergenerational equity.
• <01:00:36.880> and problematic from an equity and problematic from an equity and sustainability
• :10:13.040> health<01:10:13.280> care workforce results in higher health care workforce

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The Committee on Trade, Workforce and Economic Development will now come to order the Clerko Calderone
• Um, we might need to get, um, A higher interest equity like mezzanine or preferred financing, and all
• legal occupation for NRHC is not a political issue, and it's not an issue of housing fairness or equity
• And hearing no objection, the Committee on Trade Workforce and Economic Development is now adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• The Committee on Trade, Workforce, and Economic Development will now come to order. Let her roll.
• We might need to obtain higher interest equity, like mezzanine or preferred financing, and all.
• illegal occupation for NRHC is not a political issue, and it's not an issue of housing fairness or... equity
• Hearing no objection, the Committee on Trade, Workforce, and Economic Development... is now adjourned

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The state's workforce and economy are affected as the state's population ages and growth slows.
• and Workforce and Workforce empowerment<01:35:42.040> um<01:35:42.360> I'm<01:35:42.480
• Let us move forward together, rooted in equity, history, and hope, that we are in this together.
• Let us move forward together, rooted in equity, history, and hope, that we are in this together.
• Let us move forward together, rooted in equity, history, and hope, that we are in this together.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• So this is another avenue for growing our children's mental health workforce.
• a prevention-oriented workforce as well to help our kids.
• a prevention-oriented workforce as well to help our kids.
• Employers need to offer fertility benefits for their workforce.
• Let Nevada lead with compassion, equity, and family-first values.

Bills: AB52, AB76, AB163, AB388, AB483

Keywords: health insurance, claims process, insurance regulation, admin penalties, healthcare access, cannabis, cannabis establishment, medical cannabis, adult-use cannabis, advertising regulations, packaging requirements, unlicensed cannabis activities, state prosecution, confidentiality, Cannabis Compliance Board, disciplinary proceedings, mental health, counseling, interstate practice, telehealth

Transcript Highlights:

• member who's applying for a job at the university is going to be asked to pledge fealty to diversity, equity
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion mandates undermine this principle by creating unfair preferences in
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion and our grassroots supporters in Arizona.
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion policies have failed Arizonans.
• Equity is necessary and inclusive.

Keywords: 1182, all

Summary: The Special Committee on Government heard and advanced three measures. First, HCR 2044, a constitutional amendment to expand Arizona’s prohibition on preferential treatment and discrimination based on race or ethnicity in public education, public spending, and hiring, drew support from the Speaker, Goldwater Institute, and other advocates who argued it would close loopholes and reaffirm merit-based treatment. Opponents argued it would chill speech, training, and discussion of race and identity in public institutions. The committee approved the resolution on a 4-3 vote. The committee then considered HB 2671, as amended, which narrows mandatory transfer to adult court for juveniles by limiting chronic felony offender treatment to higher-level felonies and preserving judicial/prosecutorial discretion for lower-level repeat offenses. The sponsor and juvenile defense testimony said the bill would keep low-level youth offenders in juvenile court where rehabilitative services are available and reduce recidivism, while still holding them accountable. The Blackman amendment was adopted, and the bill passed 7-0. Finally, HB 2676 was heard to reduce the age for restoring firearm possession rights for certain juvenile offenders from 30 to 25 and to broaden restoration eligibility for other juvenile felony convictions. Supporters said it would align firearm-rights restoration with juvenile record-destruction timelines and help rehabilitated individuals move forward without unnecessary barriers. The committee approved HB 2676 unanimously, 7-0.

Transcript Highlights:

• The resulting layoffs, facility closures, displacement of our workforce, and the anxiety felt by the
• These jobs also create real pathways, including for individuals looking to enter or reenter the workforce
• , being exported out of state through RAMP. ...people trying to enter the workforce, being exported out
• California has led the nation in advancing policies rooted in inclusion, equity, and respect for human
• California has led the nation in advancing policies rooted in inclusion, equity, and respect for human

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• California is facing a significant physician workforce crisis. Thanks.
• That is an untapped workforce here in California, and we cannot overlook that part.
• That is a on-tap workforce here in California, and we cannot overlook that part.
• It's a structured pathway that supports both workforce expansion and patient safety.
• The bill supports workforce expansion and patient safety. Further study should not delay action.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They're scared mostly about the workforce and having these districts be strained even further with new
• It also strengthens our long-term workforce sustainability statewide. But I think Mrs.
• So, again, full state funding would ensure equity across all districts.
• Improving equity is vital. But the new formula has created a devastating, unintended consequence.
• It is a promise of fairness, equity, and opportunity for every child in our state.

Summary: The committee first heard a presentation on strategic resource management in public education. LESC staff and PED officials argued that New Mexico has increased school funding, but local budgeting and planning remain fragmented and overly compliance-driven. They described long-term pressures including declining enrollment, rising special education costs, falling cash balances, changes in federal funding, and leadership turnover, and said schools need more intentional multi-year planning tied to student outcomes. They also outlined the many disconnected planning requirements schools must complete, compared New Mexico’s current approach with Ohio’s three-year budget forecasting model, and recommended continuing multi-year appropriations, adding $2.5 million for state grants in the unified application, and directing LESC, LFC, and PED to develop a long-term financial planning proposal. PED said it is working to reduce administrative burden through school accreditation, a unified application for federal and state funds, and internal alignment of guidance and coaching, with pilot schools reporting time savings and better alignment. Members raised concerns about four-day school weeks, the burden on small districts, the need for outcomes and return on investment, and whether the state should move toward a two-year or three-year planning cycle; staff clarified that the proposal was to streamline or eliminate redundant requirements, not add another layer. The committee then received an update on the Educator Fellows program. PED described it as a Grow Your Own pipeline that employs candidates as supplemental educational assistants while they work toward licensure, providing salary, benefits, paid leave, mentoring, and coursework support. Officials said the program helps address teacher shortages, improves student-to-teacher ratios, increases workforce diversity, and supports the Martinez-Yazzie action plan. They reported 370 current fellows across 86 LEAs and about 180 schools, with many fellows being people of color, first-generation college students, or second-career educators; roughly 85 are expected to become certified this year. A local HR director from Belen testified that the program has been especially valuable in small communities, where fellows are already rooted in the community and several have moved into teaching roles. Members asked about high school recruitment, tuition, retirement and benefits, the relationship to the Higher Education Department’s Grow Your Own scholarship, and the role of university partners. PED said fellows choose among accredited higher education partners, the program is separate from the scholarship but complementary, and the state is also building an apprenticeship model and seeking to expand the program to more LEAs, though some districts are on a waiting list because of funding and local match requirements.