Transcript Highlights:

• Performance... ...performance measures.
• measures in order to gauge the performance of the vendor.
• We use those performance measures pretty aggressively.
• The performance standards are the outcome.
• The performance standards are the outcome.

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• to move low-performing staff out.
• to move low-performing staff out.
• to move low-performing staff out.
• to move low-performing staff out.
• to move low-performing staff out.

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Primary and Secondary Education Committee met and first considered Senate Concurrent Resolution 43, a proposal tied to the Southern Regional Education Board’s crisis recovery network. Senator West and Dr. Puit explained that, for an additional $10,000 in dues, Kentucky would help create a network of 40 trained counselors in each of the 16 Southern states to provide post-crisis stabilization and psychological first aid after events such as the Marshall County shooting. They emphasized that the effort would be complementary to local and state response, would run through the school district, would not replace therapeutic services, and would allow districts to coordinate parent notifications and other protocols as usual. Members asked about parent involvement and whether pastoral counselors could participate; the presenters said local districts would remain in charge and that pastors could be included if properly credentialed. The committee then voted, and SCR 43 passed with the expression of opinion that it should pass. The committee next took up Senate Bill 207, the School of Innovation Act, with a committee substitute. Senator West described the bill as creating an optional path for districts to contract with an outside education service provider for a three-year school-of-innovation model, aimed at turning around low-performing schools or supporting other schools that want to innovate. He said the model would preserve core district functions such as transportation, facilities, and SEEK funding, while allowing waivers from certain statutes and regulations inside the school building. The committee substitute also added a high-quality instructional materials component, creating a vendor-supported repository of vetted instructional materials that KDE would still control, with testing data used to evaluate whether the materials were improving outcomes. Members questioned how the proposal differed from existing district-of-innovation law and what safeguards would exist for students. Senator West said the bill would repeal the unused district-of-innovation framework and replace it with a clearer process and guardrails, including KDE oversight, attendance rules, and authority to shut down a school arrangement for financial malfeasance. He also said the model could work with local partners, including superintendents’ associations, and could be used by magnet or other schools, not only low-performing ones. The discussion also touched on whether the bill would allow more flexibility in choosing third-party providers and whether it could support longer-term recovery and even philanthropy in schools. The transcript ends during the discussion of SB 207, with no final vote shown in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• components, including alignment with this as the state's managed care, strict quality strategy and evaluation
• ability really to analyze, say we go look at 200 contracts and see where, you know, are we meeting perform
• is key performance indicators.
• We're here to talk about the budget aspect now, the performance aspect, although they are intertwined
• Arpa fund of. >> They have on the our funds that is reached his period of performance and those funds

Transcript Highlights:

• The plan must be annually evaluated and revised.
• The future board evaluated and revised.
• </c> their evaluation? their evaluation?
• </c> committees will continue to evaluate committees will continue to evaluate that<01:54:07.280><c>
• to start getting into evaluating things to start getting into evaluating things the<01:59:21.599><c>

Keywords: Senate streaming session for Tuesday, April 7, 2026, 960, senate, all

Summary: The Senate convened with an invocation by Rabbi Ari Goldstein, whose remarks were journalized at the request of the senator from District 33. The chamber then recognized the doctor of the day, Dr. Maryann Lamont, for her 50 years in medicine and her work in neurology and stroke care, and also thanked a legislative aide, Samantha Briggs, who is leaving for law school. The presiding officer noted a quorum was present and moved into the day’s floor work. The Senate handled several messages and committee reports, including a conference committee appointment on Senate Bill 18, which concerns provisional social work licensure. In Finance, the chamber advanced Senate Bill 246 on Health Services Cost Review Commission member terms, Senate Bill 370 on acupuncture board revisions, Senate Bill 564 creating a Division of Data Protection in the Attorney General’s office and a related work group, Senate Bill 782 on telecommunications infrastructure protections, Senate Bill 808 on health insurance provider panel requirements, Senate Bill 849 on agricultural equipment warranties, Senate Bill 867 on the Maryland Aerospace and Technology Commission, and Senate Bill 982 on mutual insurance holding companies converting back to mutual insurers. Most of these bills were reported favorably with technical or conforming amendments, which were adopted without objection, and each was ordered printed for third reading. The committee also considered several House bills with Senate cross-files or identical measures. These included House Bill 118 on money transmitter licensing, House Bills 339 and 512 on Anne Arundel County Board of License Commissioners compensation, House Bill 1100 on telecommunications infrastructure protections, House Bill 1395 on agricultural equipment warranties, House Bill 1473 creating Maryland’s Future Board, House Bill 226 on Department of Disabilities housing programs, House Bill 278 codifying the Longevity Ready Maryland plan, and House Bill 746 on collaborative care model coverage and cost-sharing limits. In each case, the committee reports were adopted, amendments were approved where offered, and the bills were advanced to third reading or passed for third reading, with no recorded opposition on the floor.

Transcript Highlights:

• According to a did statewide strategy with standardize proactive approach is inconsistent evaluation
• Teams within agencies across our state, evaluate in peer support is challenging.
• It wanted to incentivize strong performance within with the It wanted to incentivize strong performance
• There are levers to pull under in regards to rewarding enhance performance measures.
• that that we put in the model in order to instead give the legislature the option to incentivize performance

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And evaluated appropriately, eventually Medicaid could recognize it.
• We're looking at ensuring there are performance measures within all of this, as well as reporting requirements
• So, you all will be able to evaluate the services, evaluate the needs and performances in every region
• Strategically use the resources we have more effectively and boost performance.
• Or, in some cases, as we've seen in evaluation work we've done for many years, never completed at all

Transcript Highlights:

• arts, and preserving traditional Cambodian dance through education and performance.
• Stockton also has a powerful legacy of Filipino... ...boating dance through education and performance
• He is also the co-founder of TN Performing Arts, which promotes Vietnamese culture through traditional
• drumming, lion dancing, and other cultural performances.
• Mira first rose to stardom with her performance in Mighty Aphrodite, where she won an Oscar for Best

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It's one of CYFD's performance measures. That number in FY 24 was 15%.
• Garcia's presentation on child welfare performance challenges and the data.
• So, can data be correlated across the board to assess, evaluate performance, and to give us the ability
• That's been a performance measure that we have not met for 2 years, but now we have met it and we've
• You'll see there the performance indicators. This is a full scale approach.

Transcript Highlights:

• 28.480><c> to</c> services they are already authorized to services they are already authorized to perform
• </c><00:04:08.799><c> perform</c><00:04:09.360><c> and</c><00:04:09.599><c> are</c> authorized to perform
• perform and are authorized to perform perform and are currently<00:04:10.319><c> providing.
• So, we knew as we were evaluating how we were going to move into this new arena that we were going to
• </c><00:57:57.599><c> in</c> randomized control trial uh performed in randomized control trial uh performed

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The meeting opened with roll call, approval of the September 17 minutes, and an introduction of Sarah Rome to the committee. The chair also noted that the committee would stay on schedule and then moved to presentations. Representative Amy Neighbors and Taylor Williams of the Kentucky Pharmacists Association presented a refiled “pharmacy parity” proposal, formerly House Bill 3, to require Medicaid reimbursement for pharmacist clinical services already authorized under current scope of practice. They said the bill would not expand Medicaid or pharmacist scope, but would align Medicaid with commercial insurance, improve access and outcomes, and likely save money; they cited a Cabinet report under Senate Joint Resolution 26, which found similar laws in other states were producing savings or trending toward savings and would require only modest administrative updates. No member questions were raised after that presentation. The committee then heard an update on the Kentucky Colon Cancer Screening Program from Senator Stephen Meredith, Dr. Whitney Jones, Melissa Carrier, and Representative Neighbors. They described the program’s goals of increasing screening, reducing deaths through earlier detection, and preventing cancers by finding polyps, saying it has produced substantial savings and improved outcomes. Speakers emphasized Kentucky’s high colorectal cancer burden, especially in younger adults, and said the program helps uninsured and underinsured Kentuckians access stool-based screening and follow-up colonoscopies through a network of partners including the Department for Public Health, Kentucky Cancer Link, and university cancer programs. They requested an increase in funding from $500,000 to $1.25 million annually, or $2.5 million over the biennium, to expand services, fill geographic gaps, and support education and navigation. Members asked whether the colon cancer screening was already covered by Medicaid, and the presenters replied that Medicaid does cover it, but the program serves people who are not on Medicaid or who fall into a separate eligibility category based on income and insurance status. A member also clarified the requested funding increase. The committee then moved on to the next agenda item, an update from the Children’s Home of Northern Kentucky, where board member Sal Santoro and CHNK Behavioral Health leaders began a presentation describing the organization’s broader behavioral health work and its request, but the transcript cuts off before that presentation concludes or any action is taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, Roswell is home to a high-performing early childhood program.
• We had to know our baseline and where we measured up to specific performance standards.
• It allowed us to use the national performance standards to measure our current services and supports.
• We have a rigorous reporting performance data process where we take.
• And then we, um, evaluate. Did they graduate? Are they proficient in math?

Transcript Highlights:

• </c> said we would like to really evaluate said we would like to really evaluate what<00:42:22.000><c
• </c><01:00:26.720><c> as</c> terms of the section 334 evaluation as terms of the section 334 evaluation
• And then also the LSO program evaluation section um did conduct at least three different um program evaluations
• But they'll be conducting their own self-evaluation.
• But they'll be conducting their own self-evaluation.

Keywords: 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They typically ask for the IEP and look at the date of the last evaluation, not the date of the last
• In high school, your parent may have had an evaluation for you, which happens every three years.
• That evaluation doesn't tell us anything new; they have a learning disability, they always will.
• They don't need to know in the test how the student performed.
• They don't need to know in the test how the student performed.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Higher Education held its fourth public hearing, opening with remarks about the importance of protecting and expanding access to higher education amid federal disinvestment. The chairs also announced future informational hearings on the impact of federal cuts and on ASAP models. The hearing then focused on several bills, beginning with S. 951/H. 1462, An Act to Support College Students in Recovery, which would require recovery-focused housing on public campuses and expand naloxone access and overdose training. Senator Rausch, medical professionals, students, and advocates testified in support, emphasizing the prevalence of overdose risk among college students, the value of recovery housing, and the need for campus naloxone; committee members asked about implementation details and the existing state pilot program. Deb Schmill and Rep. Tarski gave especially personal testimony in favor of the bill, and the committee discussed broadening the naloxone language to opioid reversal agents. The committee also heard testimony on H. 1461, which would expand MassReconnect scholarships to practical nursing students at vocational and technical schools to help address the long-term care workforce shortage. Rep. Stanley argued that vocational schools graduate more practical nursing students than community colleges and serve many low-income students in areas without nearby community college programs. The committee then took up H. 1433, which would require public higher education institutions to accept IEPs and 504 plans as sufficient documentation for disability accommodations. Advocates from the National Center for Learning Disabilities described the high cost and burden of repeat testing, the lifelong nature of disabilities, and the need for more uniform access across campuses; committee members raised questions about documentation freshness, campus autonomy, and how to preserve the integrity of accommodations. Later, the committee heard S. 919/H. 1454 on modernizing the Community College Endowment Match Program so community colleges could receive state matching funds for current-use donations as well as endowments and capital gifts. Community college foundation leaders said the change would help fund immediate student needs such as food pantries, child care, emergency aid, and equipment. The hearing then moved to faculty-related bills: S. 933 on UMass faculty rights and tenure transparency, S. 930/H. 3948 on contingent faculty rights and career advancement, and S. 940/H. 1429 on an Adjunct Bill of Rights. Testimony from faculty and union representatives focused on low pay, lack of benefits, job insecurity, and the need for clearer pathways to full-time positions and fairer treatment for adjuncts who teach large shares of courses. No votes were taken during the hearing; the committee primarily received testimony and asked clarifying questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• And that's why we have an immediate and critical needs list that we have spent years evaluating, refining
• I did not see that in your categories of how you evaluate the needs.
• , we have to look at the seismic security, ADA, but we do look at caseloads and the like when we evaluate
• criteria phase for the Nevada courthouse, performance criteria phase for the Plumas Courthouse in Quincy
• criteria for the new Solano Hall of Justice, and reappropriation of the performance criteria for the

Summary: The Senate Budget Subcommittee on Corrections, Public Safety, Judiciary, Labor, and Transportation held a hearing focused first on courthouse facility funding and then on the Governor’s proposed court facilities budget. Legislative Analyst’s Office staff outlined the state’s court-facilities funding structure, including the 2002 shift of trial court facility responsibility from counties to the state, the main funding accounts, the insolvency of the construction fund, the move to General Fund support, the backlog of deferred maintenance, and the large estimated cost of needed new construction and repairs. Judicial Council representatives and judges from Los Angeles and Mendocino described severe seismic, safety, ADA, security, and maintenance problems, with examples of floods, elevator failures, asbestos-related closures, and long-delayed or underfunded projects. They argued that chronic underinvestment is making facilities less safe and more expensive to maintain, and that courthouse conditions directly affect access to justice and public confidence. Committee members pressed witnesses on how projects are prioritized, whether population and filing volume are adequately reflected, why reassessments have not been updated since 2019, how long acquisitions and construction take, and what level of funding would actually close the gap. Members also questioned the fixed county contribution, the use of General Fund backfills, and whether the state should set a clearer long-term funding target for the judicial branch. LAO staff emphasized that any new General Fund commitment would require tradeoffs with other budget priorities and said the Legislature must decide its appetite for funding. Judicial Council staff said the current prioritization was based on the 2019 reassessment and trailer bill language, that a new reassessment would cost about $14 million, and that acquisition delays are often driven by willing-seller issues and CEQA requirements. The chair asked for written testimony and indicated the committee would consider a future field hearing. In the second panel, Judicial Council and Department of Finance representatives reviewed the Governor’s budget proposals for court facilities. They said the proposal includes continued backfill for the State Court Facilities Construction Fund, several new construction and reappropriation items, relocation of Los Angeles courtrooms from the Spring Federal Building, and completion of a fire/life-safety project in Orange County. A court executive from Ventura testified that courthouse conditions affect public trust, employee morale, and the quality of service, citing roof leaks, elevator breakdowns, and HVAC failures as examples of why sustained facilities funding is needed.

Transcript Highlights:

• cannot resist an officer with violence or a threat of violence when an officer is engaged in the performance
• of a legal duty to a requirement that the law enforcement officer be engaged in the performance of his
• We support clarifying throughout the bill that an officer is acting in the performance of his or her
• We support clarifying throughout the bill that an officer is acting in the performance of his or her
• When a vendor performs deficient work, I ask the vendor to correct the deficient work.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Committee on Rules met with a quorum present and heard a long agenda of bills, beginning with CS/SB 62 on candidate qualification, which would create an enforcement mechanism for party-affiliation qualification requirements and allow challenges by qualified candidates or political parties. The bill was reported favorably. The committee then heard CS/SB 156, the Officer Jason Raynor Act, which would clarify resistance-to-officer language and impose a mandatory life sentence for manslaughter committed against a law enforcement officer; the sponsor and local law enforcement supporters emphasized the Raynor case, while criminal defense lawyers objected to deleting existing force-limit language and to the mandatory life penalty. Despite the opposition, the bill was reported favorably. The committee also approved several open-government sunset review bills extending or preserving public records exemptions, including CS/SB 7014 on social media platform investigations, SB 7016 on small business loan program records, CS/SB 7012 on Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles investigations, CS/SB 7000 on emergency shelter recipient information, CS/SB 7002 on Department of Military Affairs records, SB 7004 on conviction integrity unit reinvestigation materials, SB 7006 on Florida Public Service Commission records and meetings, and SB 7008 on Florida Gaming Control Commission records and meetings. Other measures reported favorably included SB 624 allowing optional faith-based activities in batterers’ intervention programs, HB 167 protecting former phosphate mining lands from certain strict-liability claims, CS/SB 48 on accessory dwelling units and housing supply, SB 288 on rural electric cooperatives, CS/SB 364 modernizing CPA licensure, SB 292 creating a records exemption for appellate court clerks and families, CS/SB 296 expanding domestic violence safety tools and address confidentiality protections, CS/SB 298 as the public-records companion, SB 386 on farm equipment lemon-law style protections, and SB 168 expanding public nuisance law to include gambling houses. Several bills drew supportive testimony from local governments, advocacy groups, industry groups, and affected families, with some opposition on SB 156 and SB 290. For CS/SB 48, the committee adopted two amendments before reporting the bill favorably. SB 290 on the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services was temporarily postponed after the chair allowed public testimony but no final action was taken. At the end of the meeting, senators recorded their votes on selected bills, and the committee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• to find someone at that price who can perform the duties required of them.
• They do an evaluation process of each of our...
• The Secretary of State does the evaluation process, and that allows you to move them from, say, step
• one or step two, in addition to whatever evaluations y'all do.
• In addition to whatever evaluations y'all do. Yes. Well, that is the whole process.

Summary: The committee first heard Senate Bill 319, which would tighten and standardize voter identification rules at polling places. Senator Presley and Secretary of State Nancy Landry said the bill replaces the current “generally recognized” photo ID standard with a specific list of acceptable IDs, removes the affidavit-only option, and allows voters without a photo ID to cast a conditional paper ballot at the registrar of voters office or during early voting if they later provide approved documentation within two days after the election. Supporters argued the bill improves consistency, election integrity, and poll-worker guidance while still preserving access through alternative documents and free state IDs; opponents warned it could create confusion and burden seniors, students, homeless voters, and others without easy access to the required documents. After debate, the committee reported SB 319 favorably by a 7-2 vote. The committee then approved Senate Bill 202, which adds one day of compensated meeting time for parish boards of election supervisors in certain elections, and Senate Bill 25, which revises the compensation schedule for registrars of voters and related staff. SB 25 was amended to remove outdated step references and make conforming technical changes, and supporters said the pay structure has not been updated since 2007 despite increased duties and workload. The committee also adopted and reported favorably Senate Concurrent Resolution 29, creating a legislative study committee on water quality in the Chafalalaya Basin, and House Concurrent Resolution 85, creating a task force on illegal dumping, both with technical amendments. In addition, the committee advanced Senate Concurrent Resolution 63, which asks the legislative auditor to review how fiscal notes are prepared during session, and Senate Concurrent Resolution 33, which creates a work-based learning coordination task force to improve alignment among education, workforce, and employer partners. SCR 33 was amended to change the appointing authority for two members. The committee also approved Senate Concurrent Resolution 5, establishing the Louisiana-Ireland Trade Commission, and House Resolution 196, which creates a study committee on the impact of fallen trees on residential property and insurance issues. Several of these measures were supported by agency representatives or outside groups, and the committee adopted technical amendments where needed before reporting the bills and resolutions favorably.

Transcript Highlights:

• The legislature will ensure that experienced decision makers evaluate.
• Meteorological meteorological evaluation towers are used to evaluate locations for future wind turbines
• House Bill 2898 requires notice of intent to build a meteorological evaluation tower to be provided to
• DOD and FAA draw their information for issuing NTAMS and doing safety flight evaluations to impact the
• Operate or people who intend to put up meteorological evaluation towers will have to register with the

Transcript Highlights:

• State Patrol administers the firearm background check program and is authorized to charge a fee for performance
• The bill is exempt from tax preference performance review, though, and does not expire.
• First, the bill directs the Director of Agriculture to monitor food system performance and coordinate
• We anticipate this could cost over a million. to perform the electronic redactions.
• audits of government account for JLARC to conduct a performance review by November 2027 if the work

Summary: The committee first suspended the five-day notice rule and then heard House Bill 2521 on firearm background check fees. Staff explained that the bill would remove the $18 fee cap and allow Washington State Patrol to set fees based on actual program costs, which could be about $33 to $35 per check. Supporters said the change was needed to keep the background check system operating and avoid delays and layoffs; opponents argued it would burden lawful gun owners and amount to an unconstitutional tax or barrier to a constitutional right. No vote was taken in the hearing. Members then heard Substitute House Bill 2475 on language-accessible public programs, which would direct the Office of Equity to develop uniform language-access guidelines, address interpreter and translator shortages, and require agency implementation reporting. Testimony was strongly supportive, emphasizing the need for consistent access for limited-English-proficient residents and the benefits for schools, families, and state services. The committee also heard Second Substitute House Bill 2479 on wage recovery, which would create a wage recovery fund to provide partial advance payments to low-wage workers with meritorious unpaid wage claims and adjust wage penalty provisions. Employers, labor advocates, and legal services representatives largely supported the bill as a bipartisan, worker-protection measure funded by penalties rather than the general fund. The committee next took up Engrossed Third Substitute House Bill 1960 on renewable energy tax incentives, which would replace existing property tax and excise tax provisions with a new state and local renewable energy excise tax structure and related grant programs for local governments and tribes. Counties, utilities, developers, and tribal representatives generally supported the bill’s goal of stabilizing tax treatment for renewable projects, though several witnesses said they wanted amendments to address rates, timing, and late-stage project impacts. The committee also heard Substitute Senate Bill 5932 on alternative jet fuel incentives, which would change the timing and duration of existing tax preferences; supporters said it would provide certainty for emerging sustainable aviation fuel projects, while one refinery sought clarification and a broader county threshold. Later, the committee heard Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2238 on statewide food security, directing the Department of Agriculture to monitor food system performance and develop a statewide food security strategy. Agricultural groups, grocers, anti-hunger advocates, and farmers supported the bill as a coordination effort to improve food access, affordability, and supply chain resilience. The committee then heard Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 1903, which would create a statewide low-income energy assistance program through the Department of Commerce; supporters said it would address growing unmet need and complement existing utility programs, while opponents said it did not address the root causes of rising energy costs. Finally, the committee heard Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 2416 on waste-to-energy facilities under the Climate Commitment Act and Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 2515 on large energy-use facilities (data centers), both of which drew mixed testimony centered on balancing emissions, ratepayer impacts, reliability, and environmental or tribal concerns. No final votes were taken in the hearing.

Transcript Highlights:

• Agencies such as OIHA routinely evaluate carcinogenicity and reproductive toxicity, making additional
• And as an RN, I am constantly assessing, listening, observing, and evaluating.
• These are simply evolutions of tools and evaluations used in health care for decades.
• I'm a performance...
• I'm a performance...

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Then, as I talked about, the Medicare Value-based purchasing total performance score.
• So, I'm not going to go through all the agency goals and keep performance metrics.
• Actually, performed a little better than I had hoped for. some of them.
• There is a built-in evaluation component to this.
• And those are our agency key goals and performance metrics 1, 2, and 3.

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We perform operational technology them.
• </c><00:13:26.560><c> cyber</c> capable and certified to perform cyber capable and certified to perform
• </c><00:21:37.200><c> Uh</c> were actually performing the mission.
• Uh were actually performing the mission.
• ><c> comprehensive</c> we also performed a comprehensive we also performed a comprehensive postmortem

Keywords: 1183, house