Transcript Highlights:

• Yeah, so every state is really different, and that's what my bill does: it creates what the competencies
• And so what this says is that, as a state, what competencies do we want them to have?
• So what they would put together in the state plan amendment would be competencies.
• And so this would automatically be re-evaluated if they wanted to include it in future years.
• And so this would automatically be re-evaluated kind of if they wanted to include it in future years.

Bills: LB878, LB958, LB958A, LB762, LB1187, LB966, LB929, LB962, LB1209, LB937A, LB962A, LB1050, LB1050A, LB965, LB1022, LB753, LB788, LB913, LB1055, LB1195, LB429, LB721, LB722, LB727, LB745, LB749, LB778, LR293, LR296, LR422, LR495, LR496, LR497, LR498, LR499, LR500, LR501, LR502, LR503, LR504

Keywords: paid parental leave, state employees, workplace benefits, family support, economic impact, Medicaid, Medical Assistance Act, home and community-based services waiver, HCBS waiver, waiver participant, assessment tool, clinical interviewing, service tier, retroactive coverage, doula, doula reimbursement, maternal health, prenatal care, pregnancy, birth outcomes

Transcript Highlights:

• Over 60% of New Mexico counties fall into the highest social vulnerability index quartile as evaluated
• Because we are losing our young people, I do the mental health evaluations for the court.
• So, how are we going to make sure that these smaller ranchers are going to be able To compete with these
• bigger entities that have more money, but they can't compete.
• year or two years, somebody's coming in looking like my ranch is out of business because I couldn't compete

Transcript Highlights:

• in assisted living providers who compete in the<01:21:14.400> exact<01:21:14.719> same
• Allowing LPNs to do these focused assessments also ensures crucial evaluations are done on time.
• Allowing LPNs to do these focused assessments also ensures crucial evaluations are done on time.
• Allowing LPNs to do these focused assessments also ensures crucial evaluations are done on time. same
• mobile crisis programs and funding, evaluate the county correctional facility long-acting injectable

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It did not require them to evaluate the use of wind or solar. Many of them already had done that.
• evaluate evaluate the<00:57:31.440> use<00:57:31.680> of<00:57:32.000> carbon<00
• the use of wind require them to evaluate the use of wind or<00:57:37.760> solar.
• It was a mandate to evaluate.
• decided that in their evaluation company decided that in their evaluation they<01:06:07.039> needed

Bills: SJ0001, SF0017

Keywords: mineral leasing, federal lands, Wyoming, energy policy, local control, federalism, forestry management, good neighbor authority, state lands, employee funding, donations, revolving account, 916, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <01:00:48.720> what residents can actually evaluate what residents can actually evaluate what
• Who's going to evaluate that? Who's going to be looking at these things?
• Who's going to evaluate<01:08:01.920> that?
• Who's going to be looking evaluate that?
• As both a legislator and an educator, I evaluate policy based on outcomes.

Keywords: 981, all

Summary: The House convened, established a quorum, approved the corrected journal, and made several announcements, including recognition of Liberty Common High School seniors and Canyon Creek Elementary students visiting the Capitol. Committee meeting notices were also given for Judiciary and Transportation, Housing, and Local Government. The chamber then took up House Joint Resolution 1027, a Holocaust remembrance resolution sponsored by Representatives Weinberg and Woodrow and Senators Weissman and Ball. The resolution emphasized the history of the Holocaust, the rise in anti-Semitic incidents in Colorado and nationally, the importance of Holocaust and genocide education, and the need to combat bias and hate. Several members spoke in support, including personal reflections from Representatives Woodrow, Weinberg, Goldstein, and others about family history, survivor testimony, and the importance of remembrance and prevention. The House adopted HJR 1027 by vote, and Representatives Rutnell and Lindsay were added as co-sponsors. The chamber then set a slate of bills as special orders for April 14, 2026. In committee-of-the-whole action, House Bill 1288 on jury selection was amended and passed; the amended bill creates a jury selection working group to study voir dire, juror questionnaires, and related issues, with a public report and Supreme Court review of any proposed rule changes. House Bill 1224 on financial protections for mobile home park residents was also taken up, with committee reports adopted and discussion focused on transparency in park sales, resident purchase opportunities, disclosures, and due diligence protections. Representative Richardson offered amendment L006 to adjust how a state registration fee is allocated, describing it as a flexibility and transparency measure, while the sponsor responded that the bill was keeping the fee structure stable and that the existing split had been negotiated with stakeholders.

Transcript Highlights:

• to allow SNAP benefits to cover delivery costs, making this an important issue for Louisiana to evaluate
• So this resolution is about just gathering data and evaluating whether expanding access to grocery delivery
• So that's basically what the bill does. evaluate now, the study would possibly examine which populations
• So this resolution is about just gathering data and evaluating whether expanding access to grocery delivery
• hospitals within the same health system to share peer review records for credentialing, quality review, competency

Bills: HR174, HR194, HCR98, SB39, SB124, SB190, SB236, SB270, SB273, SB359, SB415, SB426, SB437, SB451

Keywords: fenbendazole, cancer treatment, public health, FDA, clinical trials, patient safety, visual acuity, student health, de-identified data, longitudinal analysis, education policy, SNAP, food stamps, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, grocery delivery, delivery fees, service charges, online grocery, food access, food insecurity

Summary: The House Committee on Health and Welfare met on May 12 and first reported HCR 98 favorably without objection. The resolution asks the Louisiana Department of Health to study whether SNAP benefits could be used to pay grocery delivery fees and related costs, especially for elderly and mobility-limited recipients. The author said the measure would not change SNAP rules, only request a study, and LDH was not opposed. The committee then advanced several Senate bills. SB 273, on hospice care in inpatient licensed facilities, was amended and reported favorably; the bill requires documentation of hydration, nutrition, and care decisions and clarifies facility responsibility when multiple providers are involved. SB 415, creating the Empower Louisiana Food Purchase Program, was amended and reported favorably; the author described it as a privately funded, charity-run food card program for people in need, with LDH to develop rules. SB 437, a cleanup bill on judicially referred residential substance abuse treatment facilities, was reported favorably, with LDH explaining that facilities providing treatment must be licensed and surveyed. The committee also approved SB 451 on newborn hearing screenings, which updates terminology and expands reporting requirements to improve early detection and intervention for deaf or hard-of-hearing children. SB 426, modernizing the addictive disorder regulatory authority and creating a licensure pathway for peer support specialists, was reported favorably with amendments after testimony from behavioral health providers and training organizations. SB 236 on annual LDH reviews of kidney disease treatment in Medicaid, SB 39 creating provisional licenses for massage therapist graduates, SB 190 tightening oversight of nursing facilities in the CMS Special Focus Facility Program, and SB 124 allowing peer review sharing within a health system were all reported favorably, most with technical amendments. The committee also reported favorably HR 174 urging study of fenbendazole for cancer, SB 270 allowing terminally ill patients to use medical marijuana in health care facilities, SB 359 changing terms for a Morehouse Parish hospital district board, and HR 194 requesting de-identified school visual acuity screening data for researchers. The meeting ended with a motion to adjourn.

Transcript Highlights:

• on Twitter saying that you've dispelled any rumor of being the cousin of Tim Walz because of your competent
• approval, modification, and denial, and then it's followed up with an SPP cost recovery clause to evaluate
• And then it's followed up with an SPP Cost Recovery Clause to evaluate those costs.
• The public interest standard that the SPPs are evaluated under is what we use to evaluate settlement
• So our concerns: the lack of prudence and cost-effective evaluation at SPP investment encourages investment

Summary: The committee met to hear invited presentations on storm recovery and storm protection from the Florida Public Service Commission, Florida Power & Light, Duke Energy, Tampa Electric, Chesapeake Utilities, and the Office of Public Counsel. The PSC reviewed the history of storm restoration financing and utility hardening efforts after major storms such as Hurricane Andrew, the 2004-05 hurricane seasons, Irma, and Michael, explaining storm reserve funds, storm recovery bonds, and the current three-year storm protection plan process. The commission’s role in approving plans and later reviewing prudence of actual costs was emphasized, along with the types of work included in the plans such as vegetation management, pole replacement, undergrounding, feeder hardening, and substation flood protection. The utilities described their own storm-hardening investments and recent storm performance. FPL said it has spent about $4.9 billion on storm protection and recovery-related efforts, highlighted improved restoration times during Helene and Milton, and said it is expanding undergrounding, feeder hardening, and smart-grid technology. Duke Energy reported more than 40,000 hardened poles and structures since 2021, major gains from self-healing grid technology, and faster restoration during recent storms. Tampa Electric described a roughly $200 million annual storm protection effort, including vegetation management, undergrounding, substation hardening, and new storm surge protections, and Chesapeake Utilities discussed its smaller-scale hardening program, vegetation work, pole replacement, and rapid restoration after Helene in Nassau County. Committee members asked about how utilities prioritize neighborhoods for lateral hardening, whether maps of planned projects could be shared, how much each utility has spent on undergrounding and hardening, and how reliability comparisons are normalized against the national average. Public Counsel Walt Trierweiler argued that storm recovery and hardening costs fall too heavily on investor-owned utility customers, said the current framework lacks a meaningful cost-benefit or prudence check at the planning stage, and urged broader sharing of storm costs because the benefits extend to the whole state. Senators also discussed whether the commission can review the reasonableness of approved programs and whether future reports or recommendations from Public Counsel would be helpful. No votes or formal actions were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• We can't compete with the private sector when it comes to salaries.
• second responders, frequently called on a 24-7 basis by fire and police to respond to emergencies to evaluate
• Technology Council's safety assessment program, ATC-20 training, which is post-earthquake safety evaluation
• of buildings, and ATC-45 training, which is safety evaluation of buildings after windstorms and floods

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Public Service heard testimony on a wide range of retirement classification and benefit bills affecting municipal and state employees. Much of the hearing focused on proposals to move various workers from Group 1 to Group 2 or Group 4, including municipal building officials (H. 2776), MassDOT highway workers (H. 2908/Sousa’s Law), DCF attorneys (H. 2771), probation officers, licensed electricians, drinking water operators (H. 3000/S. 1834), MWRA non-clerical workers (S. 1803), transitional parole officers (H. 2878), Plymouth BCI criminal investigator officers (H. 2975/S. 1863), Beverly fire alarm operators/public safety telecommunicators (S. 1876), Massport pipefitters and refrigeration technicians (H. 2788/S. 1829), and other public safety or hazardous-duty classifications. Witnesses generally argued that their work is physically dangerous, understaffed, or comparable to already higher-classified employees, and several said the changes would help recruitment and retention with little fiscal impact because the affected groups are small. The committee also heard testimony on H. 4508, a home rule petition to grant a disability pension to Boston principal Patricia Lampron. Supporters, including Representative Dan Hunt, Boston city councilors, and Lampron herself, described a severe 2021 assault at the Henderson Inclusion School that left her with lasting physical and psychological injuries and forced her into early retirement. They urged the committee to advance the bill quickly. One witness, Pamela McLaughlin, testified in opposition, arguing the bill would set the wrong precedent and describing alleged prior misconduct by Lampron, and asked that the bill be sent to study. Several witnesses and committee members asked brief questions, mainly about the scope of the bills, whether certain workers were already in higher groups, and the fiscal or precedent concerns. No votes were taken during the hearing. At the end, the chairs announced that testimony was complete, asked whether anyone else wished to speak, and then the committee voted to adjourn.

Transcript Highlights:

• The bill addresses new evaluations that are requested from the district.
• If a mom or dad wants to know if their child has a special education need, those evaluations are expensive
• The bill provides $1,000 for each evaluation.
• Small districts struggle to compete with larger schools on salary, but TIA helps level the playing field

Bills: HB2

Keywords: public education, teacher compensation, certification, funding, school finance, educator rights, education funding, charter schools, staff compensation, state aid, retention allotment, 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Consider a manufacturer evaluating where to locate a new facility.
• If California requires a labor peace agreement just to access this exemption and a competing state does
• impossible to meet and that drive away the projects, jobs, and climate benefits that we should be competing
• Garrett with the California State Association of Counties and then Maxwell Johnson with California Competes
• My name is Maxwell Johnson, and I'm here on behalf of California Competes, Higher Education for a Strong

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• professional development discretionary block grant, and subject matter requirements to establish competence
• And professional development discretionary block grant, subject matter requirements to establish competency
• and professional development discretionary block grant, subject matter requirements to establish competency
• process of connecting coursework completed from the transcripts with the domains of subject matter competence
• revenues from this fee increase will backfill the loss in testing revenues from the subject matter competency

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Summary: The committee heard the Governor’s May Revision proposals for TK-12 education, beginning with a Proposition 98 overview from the Department of Finance and the Legislative Analyst’s Office. Finance said the May Revision increases the Proposition 98 minimum guarantee by about $6.4 billion relative to the Governor’s January budget across the three-year window, with higher guarantees in each year, continued full payment of the outstanding settle-up obligation in 2024-25, and a reduced $3.9 billion settle-up amount in 2025-26. Finance also described larger mandatory and discretionary deposits into the Proposition 98 reserve, ending with an estimated $10.3 billion reserve balance. The LAO said the overall estimates were reasonable, but urged the state to fully fund the guarantee and use other budget tools, including reserves, to manage volatility rather than delay settle-up payments. Members questioned the remaining settle-up amount, the risk of revenue volatility, and possible alternatives such as advance payments or other reserve strategies. The second panel covered Department of Education proposals and trailer bill language. Finance outlined additional state operations funding and positions for CDE, along with trailer bill changes affecting community schools, preschool, literacy, special education, charter accountability, teacher-related programs, and other technical cleanups. The LAO supported the overall structure of the package but recommended changes to several items, including rejecting some additional one-time community schools, literacy, math, multilingual screener, and inclusive college proposals, while supporting the ongoing LCFF and special education increases and raising concerns about the paid pregnancy disability leave proposal’s cost and implementation complexity. CDE supported the special education increase, community schools, literacy and math investments, homelessness funding, and the paid pregnancy leave proposal, while asking for more funding for county office support, clearer homelessness definitions, and continued preschool parity. Members also asked about immigrant student supports, community schools reporting, and the rationale and cost estimate for the paid pregnancy leave proposal, which Finance estimated at $218 million annually. The final panel addressed the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Finance proposed additional legal staffing for SB 848 implementation and educator misconduct caseloads, a fee increase for clear credential renewals from $100 to $125, a $5 million one-time Proposition 98 investment to build a transcript review platform, $2 million ongoing for transcript review staffing, and $30 million one-time for the statewide residency technical assistance center. The LAO had no concerns about the legal staffing, supported the transcript review platform if the fee increase and ongoing staffing were adopted, and recommended rejecting the residency technical assistance center expansion because existing funding runs through 2029. The Commission explained that the misconduct workload has grown over several years, that AI would assist but not replace human review in transcript matching, and that the residency technical assistance center helps recruit and retain teachers and support rural districts. Public commenters largely supported special education, discretionary block grants, community schools, literacy investments, homelessness funding, and teacher credentialing alternatives, while some urged rejection of the settle-up proposal and preschool COLA reduction.

Transcript Highlights:

• scientist by training with a PhD in neuroscience, and I previously worked for a venture capital firm evaluating
• It's really a larger vision so we can compete, and that's what I love, and that's what a lot of companies
• It's really a larger vision so we can compete, and that's what I love, and that's what a lot of companies
• It's really a larger vision so we can compete, and that's what I love, and that's what a lot of companies
• It's really a larger vision so we can compete, and that's what I love, and that's what a lot of companies

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00:00 Roll Call 00:00:08 Infrastructure Grant Program 00:00:45 SB 76 Discussion 00:25:50 SB 76 Vote 00:31:55, 958, all

Summary: The committee met without a quorum at first, so it began with an informational presentation from Dr. Kristen Goodell, executive director of LifeKY, about innovation infrastructure and a proposed grant program to support life sciences and other startup facilities. She argued that Kentucky’s research investments only translate into jobs and companies if startups have access to physical lab and equipment space, and said shared facilities can serve many companies over time. Goodell described LifeKY’s Northern Kentucky facility as a proof of concept, noting it has attracted companies from other states and Japan, secured a Thermo Fisher Scientific partnership, and could be replicated elsewhere in the Commonwealth. Members asked about university pipelines, local talent development, sustainability, and how the grant program would measure return on investment; Goodell emphasized public-private partnerships, earned revenue, philanthropy, internships, and STEM programming as part of the model. The committee then took up Senate Bill 76, sponsored by Senator Bledsoe, which would limit school board occupational license tax increases by raising the population threshold for such increases from 300,000 to 500,000. Bledsoe said the bill was intended to respond to Fayette County’s recent tax controversy, restore public trust, and provide stability for employees, employers, and the school system. He argued that occupational taxes affect many commuters who work in Fayette County but live elsewhere, and said the measure would give time for community buy-in before any future increase. Supportive comments came from Senator Nunn and others, while Senator Boswell asked about the tax rate and cautioned against local tax increases offsetting state income tax reductions. After discussion, the committee called the roll on SB 76. The bill advanced on a roll-call vote, with Senator Armstrong explaining a no vote because he did not want to take tools away from local government and preferred local control. The transcript indicates the measure moved forward from committee after the vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• They are evaluating the feasibility of various hydrocarbon product storage scenarios in engineered salt
• manufacturing or fertilizer until you begin to see that there's really natural gas, and now I can compete
• Therefore, we are not competing with them.
• I would end with this, though: it's against our founding documents to ever compete with the financial
• We would never compete for their deposits, never. We can't. It's against our founding documents.

Summary: The committee took roll, approved the March 18 minutes, and then received a compliance-report update on the Industrial Commission and related funds and programs. Staff reviewed the status of one-time appropriations and grant programs, including electric grid resiliency, lignite research, enhanced oil recovery, the Clean Sustainable Energy Authority, the salt cavern business-case study, and the new NDSU research and technology park grant. Members asked about funding balances, reimbursement timing, matching requirements, and how some commitments would affect the State Investment Fund and future biennia. Industrial Commission staff then gave a broader update on the agency’s administrative office, grant management system, leadership transitions at several commission agencies, and active grant rounds. They reported that the grant management system is nearing completion, that several agency leadership searches have concluded, and that the commission’s grant programs currently have 108 active grants totaling more than $165 million. They also described the Clean Sustainable Energy Authority round, the oil and gas research program’s enhanced oil recovery awards, the grid resiliency grants, the salt cavern study, and the research technology park program, noting that some projects are awaiting federal funds or additional matching cash. Ron Ness, speaking for the Oil and Gas Research Council, focused on the state of the oil industry and the enhanced oil recovery “Bakken 2.0” effort. He said production remains steady, but future growth depends on better infrastructure, longer laterals, and new EOR methods such as CO2, natural gas, and surfactants. He emphasized the importance of the Bakkeneast pipeline and related gas-utilization projects, the recent DOE funding that will return some money to the research council, and the need to modernize tax and incentive rules for CO2-based recovery. Members discussed the potential economic benefits for oil, agriculture, and manufacturing. The Bank of North Dakota then presented its compliance report and a broader strategic update. Bank leadership reviewed the bank’s mission, governance, participation lending, student lending, disaster programs, and legislatively directed programs, and said the bank is managing for a flatter deposit base and stronger liquidity because of fintech competition and changing market conditions. They reported improved earnings, with net income rising to about $231 million, and described Rough Rider Coin as a new internal payment rail for North Dakota banks and credit unions, not a public cryptocurrency. Members asked about student loan eligibility, disaster lending, and the bank’s capacity to support state programs while maintaining its balance-sheet and liquidity requirements.

Transcript Highlights:

• But to have a complete ban on non-competes in the state of Minnesota is not good for Minnesota and the
• I've been talking to companies about this non-compete issue because I didn't know much about it before
• But this non-compete issue is important for us to look at, especially regarding some of the best-paying
• That's why we stood up against the ban on non-competes, to say, look, employer, you negotiate with the
• The purpose of the commission is to provide evaluations that will inform whether certain exemptions are

Transcript Highlights:

• evaluation.
• annually pass a competency annually pass a competency evaluation<01:24:17.120> um<01:24:17.280
• Currently, it does say that it's a competency evaluation, which typically means, like, if you're competent
• <01:34:28.639> of repealing the program for evaluation of repealing the program for evaluation
• <01:35:58.320> these concerns about not evaluating these concerns about not evaluating these

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So if the process is there to evaluate, uh, income verification upon entry into the program, the infrastructure
• 06:52.880> to program so if the process is there to program so if the process is there to evaluate
• > uh<00:06:54.800> income<00:06:55.800> verification<00:06:56.800> upon evaluate
• uh income verification upon evaluate uh income verification upon entry<00:06:57.919> into<00:
• <02:35:00.000> whether list if we're going to evaluate whether list if we're going to evaluate

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• LFC heard a program evaluation of this program earlier this year, and it's been really helpful to a lot
• There are a lot of concerns about this and how they might compete, especially in some of those rural
• These programs on the federal side are going across 50 states, six territories, and we are competing
• So we are sure to evaluate these elements that are included in these pilots, ensuring their fidelity
• The idea is that we shouldn't be competing with each other for resources; we have to figure out a way

Transcript Highlights:

• Their rigorous certification programs and on the job training equip them with the core competencies assessed
• This bill expands that to include an evaluation of academic and technical pathways, a description of

Transcript Highlights:

• Their rigorous certification programs and on-the-job training equip them with the core competencies assessed
• This bill expands that to include an evaluation of academic and technical pathways.

Bills: SB800, SB1534, SB2055, SB2310, SB2431, SB2786, SB3039, SB1242

Keywords: sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, higher education, student safety, orientation policies, health physics, workforce development, nuclear energy, radiological safety, scholarship, education, Texas Leadership Scholars Program, student funding, transparency, degree requirements, certificate programs, student transfer, foreign language

Transcript Highlights:

• How do you look when you're evaluating Spectrum? has still made for decades.
• it's a key component in terms of building that overall tech ecosystem that's going to be able to out-compete

Keywords: spectrum policy, FCC auction authority, national security, innovation, technology development, 9-1-1 modernization, adaptive technologies, China competition

Summary: The meeting centered on the critical examination of spectrum policy and its implications for innovation and national security. The committee discussed the lapse of the FCC's spectrum auction authority, which has been in effect since March 2023, emphasizing the urgency of restoring this authority to maintain U.S. technological leadership against competitors like China. Witnesses provided testimony regarding the need for adaptive and reconfigurable spectrum technologies to enhance communication capabilities for both civilian and military applications. Senator Klobuchar highlighted the importance of modernizing 9-1-1 systems and ensuring robust emergency communication frameworks leveraging new spectrum innovations.