Transcript Highlights:

• So with regard to standardizing the eligibility assessment...
• There was another report on best practices that was... ...another report on best practices that was completed
• is not eligible or needs further assessment, et cetera.
• not eligible or needs further assessment, et cetera.
• I'll start with an update of our assessed hours proposal.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The bill is based on research and best practices. The U.S.
• SB 1086 offers a practical solution.
• Can you describe how that law has functioned in practice?
• But the threats will be assessed and determined...
• So with I want to be more practical in what this also offers.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Institutions collect those assessments and then provide those assessments to the Bureau's Student Tuition
• What that rate of assessment is varies.
• It is a pretty streamlined process in terms of those assessments and the submittal of those assessments
• So that is, to me, very unfair practice.
• now, the assessments work based on $1,000 of tuition.

Summary: The joint Sunset Review Oversight Hearing focused on the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE) and its reauthorization, operations, enforcement, fiscal condition, and student protections. Committee leaders and DCA officials praised the Bureau’s recent improvements in data systems, licensing, inspections, and enforcement, while noting the Bureau’s role has become more important as federal higher education oversight weakens. Bureau Chief Deborah Cochran said the agency has met its inspection mandate for the first time since the law was enacted, increased citations and disciplinary actions, reduced pending complaints, and used data tools to identify risk and monitor institutions more effectively. A major portion of the hearing centered on student harm, especially school closures, transcript access, predatory recruiting, and the Student Tuition Recovery Fund (STRF). Members asked how the Bureau protects students when schools close, whether bad actors can reopen under new entities, and whether enforcement tools are strong enough. Cochran said the Bureau can cite, fine, place schools on probation, revoke licenses, and order refunds, but it is seeking new authority to deny approval to operators who previously closed schools improperly or failed to refund students. She also said the Bureau is tracking ownership data and is concerned about institutions targeting immigrant and visa students. On STRF, Cochran explained that the fund is currently healthy, assessments are at zero because the balance is above the statutory target, and the Bureau paid about 1,100 claims totaling roughly $17 million over the last four years. Several members questioned the fairness of the assessment structure and discussed alternatives such as surety bonds, but the Bureau said STRF is working well and no change is needed at this time. Fee increases and the Bureau’s structural deficit were another major topic. Cochran said the Bureau reduced costs by eliminating positions, streamlining inspections, improving data analysis, and shifting some student-relief costs to STRF, but that legislative action is still needed to address the deficit. She said the proposed fees were based on workload analyses and that application fees generally match service costs, while annual fees are designed to cover most of the Bureau’s revenue needs. Some members and stakeholders criticized the proposed increases as too high, especially for out-of-state registration and campus fees, while others argued the Bureau needs sufficient resources to regulate effectively. Public commenters from private schools, Northeastern University, San Joaquin Valley College/Carrington College, and TICAS generally supported the Bureau’s mission and reauthorization, but urged changes such as risk-based oversight, better transcript protections, stronger limits on repeated provisional approvals, and more targeted fee and STRF reforms. No votes were taken, and the hearing ended with no formal action beyond discussion and receipt of testimony.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> lower assessment rate. lower assessment rate.
• </c> "Well, you got to make sure you assess "Well, you got to make sure you assess your<01:03:48.960>
• practice practice out<01:52:28.400><c> of</c><01:52:28.639><c> necessity</c><01:52:29.599><c> more</
• </c> to see this PRA practice act updated. to see this PRA practice act updated. Right?
• </c> two totally different scopes of practice two totally different scopes of practice practice,<02:00

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I want you all to utilize this time to practice your two-minute public comment. Practice. Practice.
• Public comment practice: get your stopwatches out and make sure it is timed appropriately.
• We need the assessment of ensuring funds are in all the areas where the need is demonstrated.
• We need the assessment of ensuring funds are in all the areas where the need is demonstrated.
• That reflects current research and best practices.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• to develop assessment framework to develop definitions<00:17:23.120><c> for</c><00:17:23.280><c> the
• In state procurement, water rate pricing, maybe even assisting in the assessment of agricultural tax
• Um, or, well, subsistence producers who are following cultural practice, we could say, right?
• </c> the need for best management practices the need for best management practices because<00:45:30.960
• whether to write the better assess whether to write the necessary<00:53:39.240><c> funding.

Bills: SB2319, SB2407, SB2489, SB2153, SB2321, SB2805, SB3010, SB2892, SB2595, SB2781

Keywords: agriculture, biosecurity, grant funding, food security, climate resiliency, agricultural development, Hawaii Island, property manager, agribusiness, state employment, invasive species, lease provisions, environment, food safety, farmers, local food systems, rural development, livestock, forage grasses, pest management

Transcript Highlights:

• Market value to assessed value, why did you make that change?
• I figured assessed value is going to be there. Okay. And, okay.
• assessed value is to know, do I qualify or do I not?
• They're looking at an assessed value.
• So I think it's confusing if you come back and you look at your assess, and the assessed value is usually

Summary: The Special Committee on Tax Reform met in executive session and first adopted a substitute and then gave do pass recommendations to H.J.R. 115, which would align homestead language with the Senate version by changing the acreage limit from 2.5 acres to 5 acres, and to HB 2869, which was amended to tie a $500,000 threshold to CPI and use assessed value rather than market value. The committee also voted HB 3303 do pass without amendment after brief discussion about its purpose and potential tax implications. In regular hearing, the committee heard HB 2234 from Rep. Tricia Burns, which would change how surplus proceeds from tax foreclosure sales are handled. Burns and witness Tamara Rucker explained that when a home is sold for more than the delinquent taxes owed, the surplus can currently escheat to county revenue after three years; the bill would move those funds to the unclaimed property division and improve notice to property owners or heirs. Members discussed how the process works, the lack of uniform notification and payout standards, and the amount of surplus involved in some counties. No opposition testified. The committee also heard HB 2964, another bill from Rep. Burns, to move property tax bill mailing and delinquency dates later in the year, from early December/January to late February/April. Burns said the change would ease hardship around the holidays and help seasonal residents. Testimony from the Missouri School Boards Association raised concerns that districts would need to carry an additional 60 to 90 days of reserves, or roughly 15 to 20 percent more, to bridge the delayed revenue, though the witness said the impact would vary by district. The hearing concluded with no further business, and the committee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> were assessing. were assessing.
• We see um assessment.
• </c><00:04:21.400><c> their</c> work with families to assess their work with families to assess their
• </c> If youth were being kind of assessed If youth were being kind of assessed fines<00:05:14.960><c>
• So, assessed, but not being collected.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• With fidelity in our classrooms, progress monitoring assessments system. The PM ONE PM TWO in PM 3.
• They can discuss some of the best practices that they see that work and also comply with the law.
• Okay is a practice.
• We share best practices. We bring an expert speakers. We bring in department education.
• Another example of how we assess impact is our engagement.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• In the year 2012, and I can recall very specifically this year, it was near the beginning of my practice
• , there was a bill that, was near the beginning of my practice.
• I've been practicing for about 33 years in the workers' compensation arena.
• I've been practicing for about 33 years in the workers' compensation arena.
• I practiced in every single OWC in the district, in the state, excuse me.

Keywords: 974, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> of uh assessments or fines or fees. of uh assessments or fines or fees.
• </c> Debt Collection Practices Act violation. Debt Collection Practices Act violation.
• </c><00:29:23.200><c> um</c> up for past uncollected assessments um up for past uncollected assessments
• </c> Collection Practices Act field. Collection Practices Act field.
• </c> Minnesota practices. Minnesota practices.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Last year I authored SB 579, which would have created a working group to assess the ways in which AI
• is used in mental health treatment and established best practices.
• SB 1327 is a practical fix that maintains strong consumer protections...
• And without the CEC here, we cannot assess that.
• They are expected to de-escalate, to assess risk, to protect the public.

Summary: The committee heard several bills, beginning with SB 936 on nitrous oxide sales. Senator Blakespear and supporters, including Orange County and Humboldt County supervisors, described growing misuse of large nitrous canisters, impaired driving, youth access, and waste and safety problems. There was no formal opposition testimony, and multiple organizations and local governments voiced support. Committee members generally supported the bill but raised questions about enforcement and the role of existing licensing agencies; the author said amendments addressed concerns about balloons and bags. The bill was moved on a due-pass recommendation to Senate Appropriations and left on call. The committee also heard SB 1312 on abandoned cemeteries, SB 1340 on small business procurement reporting, and SB 903 on AI in mental health care. SB 1312 would build on last year’s cemetery workgroup to address abandoned private cemeteries; the author and the Cemetery and Mortuary Association said the bill is intended to use forthcoming recommendations to improve maintenance and oversight. It was moved due pass to Senate Appropriations and left on call. SB 1340 would require state agencies to report contract and payment data involving small businesses to the Office of the Small Business Advocate; the Controller’s office supported the measure, and it was moved due pass to Senate Appropriations and left on call. SB 903 drew the most extensive debate. The bill would restrict the public offering of psychotherapy services through AI unless a licensed professional is involved, require disclosure and informed consent, and preserve confidentiality rules. Supporters argued that chatbots and AI therapy tools can mislead consumers and create safety, bias, and privacy risks, while opponents from the California Medical Association and TechNet warned the definitions were too broad and could hinder beneficial clinical tools, triage, research, and FDA-approved applications. Committee members pressed the author on clarity, administrative uses like note-taking, and whether the bill would allow clinician-supervised AI; the author said the intent is to keep a human clinician in the loop and continue refining the language. The bill was moved to the Senate Privacy, Digital Technology, and Consumer Protection Committee and left on call. Finally, the committee heard SB 1271 on midwifery preceptor data and SB 1327 on EV charger accuracy oversight. SB 1271 would collect data on licensed midwives’ capacity to serve as preceptors to strengthen the training pipeline; supporters described workforce shortages, rural access problems, and closures of labor and delivery units. It was moved due pass to the Senate Health Committee and left on call. SB 1327 would shift EV charger accuracy oversight from CDFA’s Division of Measurement Standards to the California Energy Commission; supporters said this would standardize enforcement and better match the agency already regulating EV infrastructure, while county sealers and others opposed the move as unnecessary, costly, and potentially weakening local consumer protection. The bill was moved due pass to the Senate Energy, Utilities, and Communications Committee and left on call.

Transcript Highlights:

• Last year I authored SB 579, which would have created a working group to assess the ways in which AI
• is used in mental health treatment and established best practices.
• Karthik Sarma, and I practice psychiatry, including psychotherapy at UCSF, San Francisco General, and
• And without the CEC here, we cannot assess that.
• They are expected to de-escalate, to assess risk, to protect the public. I think.

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We have entered the practice of broad, unscoped subpoenas.
• We have entered the practice of broad unscoped subpoenas.
• We didn't just put in place best practices; we found evidence-based practices.
• quickly and that we're not disrupting their practices.
• . 15-992 G-8 to assess the tax.

Summary: The committee first heard a follow-up on the Arizona State Board of Chiropractic Examiners special audit. The Auditor General’s contractor reported that the board has made progress on most of the 28 recommendations from the 2024 audit, with 25 in process and three not yet implemented. Remaining concerns included complaint investigations not being resolved within 180 days, continued open meeting law compliance problems, and failure to consult the Attorney General’s open meeting law experts. The follow-up also identified new issues with posting disciplinary/non-disciplinary actions and maintaining a complete public records request log. Board staff said they had adopted new complaint timelines, subpoena limits, conflict-of-interest procedures, public meeting guidance, training, and a new licensing platform, and they described efforts to professionalize investigations and improve transparency. Members pressed the board on open meeting violations, complaint backlogs, lobbying activity, and the resignation of the board chair, while the executive director said the audit findings were being treated as a roadmap for reform. The committee then received the January 2026 Arizona school district financial risk analysis. The Auditor General’s office said the number of highest-risk districts rose from two to nine, and districts approaching highest risk increased from seven to nine. The report highlighted common risk factors such as declining student counts, budget reserve problems, use of capital funds for operations, and weakening general fund positions. Tucson Unified was used as an example of a highest-risk district, with declining enrollment, reserve declines, and capital funds redirected to operations; Scottsdale Unified was cited as approaching highest risk. The office explained its web-based dashboard, district action plans, and ongoing outreach to affected districts. Sierra Vista Unified School District superintendent Terry Romo then presented the district’s response to its financial risk designation. She said she inherited the problems, quickly developed an action plan, and is working to stabilize enrollment, reduce staffing through attrition, close an elementary school, freeze nonessential spending, tighten purchase controls, and renegotiate or cancel high-cost contracts. She also said the district is redirecting DAA funds, considering sale or lease of property, and improving communication with families through letters, videos, and enrollment outreach. Committee members questioned the district about declining enrollment, school safety, academic performance, and the pace of corrective action, while Romo emphasized that the district is trying to protect both students and finances and avoid returning to the high-risk list.

Transcript Highlights:

• It requires that the licensed professional engineers that would be required to stamp the assessments
• These assessments are a plan that's due to Ecology that, or essentially a plan or an assessment of potential
• Yes, so yes, this would require Ecology to assess penalties.
• assess the penalty.
• The fiscal needs... ...would cost to carry out these types of periodic assessments.

Bills: SB6291

Keywords: SB6291, on-site wastewater treatment, onsite wastewater treatment, septic system, sewage treatment, wastewater inspection, environmental health, local board of health, public health, professional engineer, land surveyor, certificate of competency, inspection standards, design review, supervised practice, certification, licensing, RCW 18.88A, Washington State, 904

Transcript Highlights:

• It requires that the licensed professional engineers that would be required to stamp the assessments
• It just is required to be an unaffiliated engineer that is going to stamp these assessments that EITs
• These assessments are a plan that's due to Ecology that, or essentially a plan or an assessment of potential
• This would require Ecology to assess penalties.
• The fiscal needs..." "...would cost to carry out these types of periodic assessments.

Summary: The Environment and Energy committee met to executive three bills. SB 6291 would extend from two to four years the period a non-certified person may review designs and inspect on-site wastewater treatment systems under supervision of a certified individual; the committee adopted a striking amendment making a technical correction to the definition of an on-site wastewater treatment system and then passed the bill 18-0 with three excused. ESB 6246 concerns no-cost allowance allocations for emissions-intensive, trade-exposed facilities under the Climate Commitment Act; the striking amendment added an Ecology-contracted independent third-party report due in 2028 on emissions and job leakage, revised reporting and disclosure provisions, required unaffiliated licensed professional engineers for certain assessments, and clarified penalty language. Members discussed leakage, third-party review, and costs to industry, and the bill passed 11-7 with three excused after the amendment was adopted. The committee also took up ESSB 5975, which sets lead standards for certain cookware and adjusts the Safer Products for Washington process. Members described the bill as the result of multiple years of negotiation balancing public health concerns about lead exposure with industry concerns, and noted the striking amendment set specific 2030 and 2034 standards for pots and pans. After brief supportive discussion, the committee adopted the striker and passed the bill 18-0 with three excused.

Transcript Highlights:

• the expanded practices.
• the expanded practices.
• the expanded practices.
• the expanded practices.
• the expanded practices.

Bills: HB0143, HB0129

Keywords: health care providers, free speech, discrimination, governmental agencies, civil remedies, physician access, internationally trained physicians, medical licensing, provisional license, healthcare workforce, 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:44:44.720><c> which</c><00:44:44.839><c> is</c> assessment which is assessment which is $10<00:44
• </c><01:19:29.239><c> psychologist</c> researcher and practicing psychologist researcher and practicing
• </c> bill is problematic by Ling assessments bill is problematic by Ling assessments on<01:41:54.239>
• Also, in the assessment section of the bill, the director may determine an interim assessment for new
• </c> policy holders also in the assessment policy holders also in the assessment section<01:44:23.679

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The Committee on Health heard testimony on several bills. On SB 1441, which would repeal the transfer of the Oahu Regional Health Care System from HHSC to the Department of Health, the Department of Health said it strongly supports the measure and requested clarifying amendments. HHSC/Oahu Region also supported the bill and said it had no objection to the department’s amendments. In response to questions, witnesses said the agencies have been working on an MOU to support transfers of long-term care patients to Leahi, with the current goal being about 10 to 15 patients, but transfers would occur only as space and staffing allow; one patient was reportedly being admitted at the time, and the process was described as slow and case-by-case. The committee then heard SB 1443 on payment rates for state hospital patients and related Department of Health services. The hospital administrator said the bill would allow rates above Medicaid for community or foster-home placements if patients cannot be placed at Leahi or elsewhere, and would set Medicaid-level reimbursement for outside medical services used by state hospital patients. He said at least one provider was interested in offering services at that rate and that the population involved is largely non-ambulatory long-term care patients. Members asked about availability and training, and the witness said special training could be provided. SB 1322, a broad mental health bill, drew mixed testimony. The Department of Law Enforcement supported giving crisis-intervention-trained officers more discretion to transport people to medical care instead of arresting them. The Attorney General supported the bill but recommended revisions to emergency-transport language and restoring liability protections. HHSC and Queens Hospital supported the overall goal but sought amendments to preserve the mental health emergency worker role in decision-making and to avoid negative impacts on emergency departments. The Disability Rights Center and ACLU opposed parts of the bill, arguing that it weakens due process, reduces protections in involuntary treatment and transport, and should retain a three-person treatment panel rather than reduce it to one. A Queens representative said the current program works well and reported that more than 90% of MH1 cases once went to hospitals, but that figure has dropped to about 60-70%, with about 20% now diverted to community settings or the behavioral health crisis center. No votes or final committee actions were taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• WCD operates conservation practices inside and outside of their district.
• Practices.
• We should be looking at whether this assessment tool that is going to be provided—or I'm not assessment
• It's helpful, it's helpful, and this part about the annual assessment is not an annual assessment of
• It's an assessment of the effectiveness of the efforts.

Transcript Highlights:

• Home hardening assessments is one of our main ones, where we go out and provide free, no-cost assessments
• They do a risk assessment. We walk them through the process.
• And so we're continuing to work and will continue our efforts to standardize best practices.
• I practiced dentistry for almost 30 years.
• It was my job legally to assess the entire problem, look at the entire mouth.

Keywords: 988, house, all