Video & Transcript Research : 'equal access'

Page 74 of 500
KY

Kentucky 2026 Regular Session

House Legislative Session Day 60 (4-15-26) - Part 1

Kentucky House Floor Meeting

Transcript Highlights:
  • Right now, the Department faces unnecessary limitations that prevent it from accessing resources that
  • There are grants available right now that Kentucky cannot access under current law.
  • 39:07.880> that<00:39:08.080> Kentucky<00:39:08.640> cannot<00:39:09.080> access
  • right now that Kentucky cannot access right now that Kentucky cannot access under<00:39:09.840><
OK
Transcript Highlights:
  • Senate Bill 1975 strengthens access to advanced placement opportunities for students across Oklahoma.
  • Every student has access to a physical location to take their proctored AP exam.
  • It also ensures that all students have access to Horizon, the state's online learning platform.
  • So through this Horizon's platform, I mean, every school should have access to that.
  • So this just allows them to have access to take an AP test through an online provider that the public
HI

Hawaii 2026 Regular Session

WAL Public Hearing - Thu Feb 19, 2026 @ 9:00 AM HST

Water & Land

Transcript Highlights:
  • We don't have access to the chat function.
  • Providing access could property's value.
  • There's some equality situation, but that's required on advertisements currently.
  • little logo with, you know, um equal little logo with, you know, um equal something.<01:20:19.199
  • There's some equality something.
Summary: The committee on Water and Land met on February 19, 2026, and the chair opened by emphasizing strict time limits and that all bills would be deferred if the agenda was not completed before the noon session. The first major measure discussed was HB 1739 HD1, which would preempt county land-use authority in transit-oriented development areas. The Department of Planning supported the bill, saying it could promote state-funded TOD and infrastructure, while the city and county’s position was raised in questioning. Unite Here Local 5 opposed the bill, arguing it would strip counties of self-determination, disrupt state-county policy collaboration, and remove a check on unrestrained development. Committee members pressed the supporters on whether the bill was really about higher density and whether it would override local zoning and sustainability concerns. The committee then heard testimony on HB 1741 HD1, a housing bill described by supporters as reducing inclusionary housing mandates and increasing supply. Grassroots Institute of Hawaii argued affordability mandates reduce overall housing production and raise market-rate prices, while a Zoom testifier said the bill would improve housing stability, health, and community outcomes for working families, kupuna, and young residents. Members asked about the bill’s needs assessment and who would conduct it, with a witness saying the counties would likely contract it out but that the bill did not clearly specify the reviewer. HB 2668 HD1, dealing with water heating systems, drew testimony from the Hawaii State Energy Office and industry representatives. Supporters generally backed adding heat pumps to the law, but one solar-water-heater industry witness asked for amendments to remove or extend the current 15-year statutory life limit for solar water heaters and to update outdated standards and variance rules. A Kauaʻi Climate Action Coalition witness opposed the existing solar-only structure, arguing heat pump water heaters are cheaper, align with climate goals, and should be allowed without a variance. The Energy Office said the current law already allows variances in some cases, suggested adding high-efficiency heat pump water heaters to the exemption, and said the 15-year figure may be too short, with 18 years mentioned as a possible alternative. The committee also briefly moved through several other bills, including HB 2606 HD1 on off-site construction and HB 2362 HD1 on housing, with no notable testimony or action recorded in the excerpt.
HI

Hawaii 2026 Regular Session

TRS-EIG, TRS Public Hearings 02-05-2026

Transportation

Transcript Highlights:
  • By expanding free transit access to everyone under 18 and reducing administrative burdens of accessing
  • By expanding free transit access to everyone under 18 and reducing administrative burdens of accessing
  • Access to education is a fundamental right, and transportation is a necessary part of that access.
  • Access and families is a very essential.
  • I respectfully urge you to that access.
Summary: The committees heard testimony on several transportation-related measures. SB 2356, relating to parking, drew support from the Office of Planning, the Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission, Appleseed Center, Realtors, and the Hawaii Bicycling League. Members discussed the bill in the context of the planned stadium-area mixed-use development, with questions about whether parking would be built in structures rather than as large surface lots. Senators expressed support and noted the measure’s broader housing and parking-reduction goals, but no vote was taken during the hearing. The bulk of the hearing focused on SB 2699, which would create a fare-free youth transit program, a special fund, annual evaluations, and appropriations tied to the environmental, energy, and food security tax. The Attorney General’s office raised technical concerns about whether the special fund met statutory requirements. The Department of Education and Department of Health supported the bill, as did the City and County of Honolulu DOT, Appleseed Center, Hawaii Youth Transportation Council, Public Health Institute, Hawaii Children’s Action Network, Hawaii Bicycling League, Our Children’s Trust, and numerous youth testifiers. Supporters emphasized reduced family transportation costs, better school attendance, improved health and mobility, and environmental benefits. One senator raised emergency-planning concerns about how children using free transit would be handled during events like tsunamis; DOT and DOE responded that emergency procedures are being developed. The chair said the committee would work on language changes, including a delayed effective date to July 2027, and defer decision-making until the 12th. The final measure discussed was SB 2470, which would require leading pedestrian intervals, accessible pedestrian signals, and other safety improvements at state-controlled intersections, and create a process for community requests for accessible pedestrian signals. Appleseed Center, the Hawaii Association of the Blind, and the Disability Rights Center supported the bill, citing pedestrian safety, reduced collisions, and the need for audible cues for blind and low-vision pedestrians. Testifiers urged a phased-in approach that prioritizes high-traffic intersections. The hearing ended with the bill still under consideration and no final vote announced.
TX
Transcript Highlights:
  • juvenile defendants with indigent parents have their rights to counsel met by authorizing max to access
  • they are lawfully entitled to have possession access of.
  • Code 151.001 clearly states parents have a right to possession and access of their children.
  • While TJJD does have access to telemedicine services, the facility does not.
  • So we do have access to it and utilize it.
TX

Texas 89th 2nd C.S.

State Affairs Apr 30th, 2025

State Affairs

Transcript Highlights:
  • Members, this is the, uh, companion to House Bill 5269 by freshman Barry that allows OPUC to have access
  • Also, infringing upon the right to manufacture these items is equally problematic.
  • the manufacturing process, it can, with the right political majority effectively block citizens' access
  • We are one of the only fully qualified open access ADR platforms in IRCOT.
  • and enhances safety in rural communities, especially in areas with wildfire risk, limited emergency access
TX

Texas 89th Regular

State Affairs Apr 30th, 2025

State Affairs

Transcript Highlights:
  • So, meanwhile, this state recognition would benefit us in being able to access those resources.
  • I have helped students gain access to our military service academies and the military.
  • In December of 2006, I personally... needed access to these essential services.
  • Accessibility matters. Proximity saves lives.
  • The gas utilities in Texas are receiving, in rates, equal to their actual capital structure.
TX

Texas 89th Regular

State Affairs Apr 30th, 2025

State Affairs

Transcript Highlights:
  • Members, this is the companion to House Bill 5269. ...by Freshman Berry that allows OPUC to have access
  • Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the law's primary purpose was to limit access
  • Also, infringing upon the right to manufacture these items is equally problematic.
  • We are one of the only fully qualified open access ADR platforms in ERCOT.
  • and enhances safety in rural communities, especially in areas with wildfire risk, limited emergency access
TX

Texas 89th Regular

Public Health Apr 28th, 2025 at 08:04 am

Public Health

Transcript Highlights:
  • To be clear, TFVC does not oppose safe access to vaccine. teens.
  • Do you have access to the full patient's history?
  • And those were people that we needed to make sure that had access, and if they didn't have access to
  • Again, we're so accessible, so we tell people to call us if they need.
  • There are multiple causes for this lack of treatment access.
TX
Transcript Highlights:
  • Senate Bill 1964 focuses on heightened scrutiny. ...a real impact on legal rights or access to vital
  • operational constraints on how companies deploy their models, but rather ensures that Texans have access
  • This is an expansion of an existing program at the PUC that allows ERCOT utilities to access the same
  • . that non-ERCOT utilities are able to access for one-time storm recovery costs following a major weather
  • And that's where they are and what they have access to do at this time.
TX

Texas 89th Regular

Business and Commerce (Part I) Apr 3rd, 2025

Business & Commerce

Transcript Highlights:
  • We believe it has been modified to an extent where it's very fair and equal-handed.
  • It's... where it's very fair and equal-handed.
Summary: The Senate Committee on Business and Commerce met with a quorum and first took up several pending and uncontested bills. It favorably reported SB 1405, SB 1762, SB 1977, SB 2077, SB 2148, and SB 1968, and also moved SB 2321 to the local and uncontested calendar. The committee then heard SB 819, which would change how the Public Utility Commission reviews proposed utility-scale solar and related interconnection projects. The committee substitute would shift the default so interconnection is allowed unless the PUC affirmatively prohibits it within 180 days, limit denial to cases where harm substantially outweighs benefits, remove public meeting requirements, retain setback and financial assurance provisions, add optional application materials such as national security and environmental information, and restore local control over county tax abatements. The substitute was adopted and SB 819 was favorably reported to the full Senate on a 7-3 vote. The committee then took up SB 231, focused on CenterPoint’s use of large emergency generators after Hurricane Beryl. Senator King explained that the original bill was intended to prevent customers from being charged for non-mobile generators that were leased at great cost and did not match the bill’s emergency-response purpose. CenterPoint’s Jason Ryan apologized for the company’s communication failures and said the company would make customers whole through a combination of rate reductions, foregone storm-cost recovery, and a donation of the 15 large generators to ERCOT for about two years to address a San Antonio-area reliability issue, with the company absorbing the associated costs. PUC Executive Director Connie Corona said the commission could enforce the agreement through its contested-case process. Public testimony included consumer and reliability advocates, one of whom argued utility-scale microgrids should be preserved as a policy option. SB 231 was left pending. The committee also heard SB 986, which would create an alternative process for routine Public Information Act requests so local governments can make initial redactions without sending every routine exception to the Attorney General, while preserving an appeal path and training requirements. Supporters said it would reduce backlog and speed access to records; opponents argued it would shift the burden to requesters and encourage delay. The AG’s office testified that the process could improve efficiency and still fit within current timelines if used promptly. SB 986 was left pending. Finally, SB 584 was briefly laid out to require consumer reporting agencies that buy data from others to ensure the information complies with Texas law on excluded items such as bankruptcies, judgments, and tax liens, and SB 600 was heard on heir property. SB 600’s substitute would strengthen notice, require an attorney ad litem, add an heir’s bill of rights, allow settlement conferences, and require fair-market-value sales protections; supporters said it would curb predatory partition practices, while opponents warned some provisions could burden or diminish minority heirs’ property rights. SB 584 and SB 600 were left pending after testimony.