Transcript Highlights:

• I don't want to put this bill to bed because there are...
• I don't want to put this bill to bed because there are banks that are, it's not fair, that some banks

Keywords: 965, house, all

Summary: The House Insurance Committee met with a quorum and took up three Senate bills. Senate Bill 341, by Senator Edmonds, was amended with technical changes and reported as amended. The bill expands the Louisiana churches and nonprofit religious organizations’ self-insured fund from a property-only pool to broader commercial coverage, including premises liability, fraud, contents, wind and hail, and loss-of-use coverage. Testimony from the sponsor and the Department of Insurance emphasized that the measure was intended to help churches and nonprofits, including smaller congregations, while preserving solvency requirements for the fund. The committee then heard Senate Bill 509, by Senator Cloud, concerning bank-owned life insurance (BOLI). The sponsor, bank and insurance industry representatives, and the Department of Insurance discussed allowing banks to exchange underperforming policies for better-performing ones under 1035 exchanges, while clarifying insurable-interest and consent issues. Members raised questions about former employees, split-dollar arrangements, and whether additional consent would be needed. Because the parties were still working on a solution, the committee adopted a technical amendment but voluntarily deferred the bill until the following week. Finally, Senate Bill 464, by Senator Barrow, was presented by Ryan Haney and the Department of Insurance as a framework to cover severe obesity treatment, including bariatric surgery. The bill would allow the state to partially implement the mandate based on the amount of funding appropriated, rather than requiring full funding up front. Supporters said the measure could reduce long-term health costs and align Louisiana more closely with neighboring states. The committee reported the bill favorably, and the meeting then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• You're right, the fiscal note when it's about making the service available for all applicants, the Texas.gov
• We do have a DISH's resource witness available if folks have questions, and I am happy to take questions
• Specific data that has been abstracted out of those medical records is available.
• This is a result of a rotation of caseworkers earning overtime pay because the state has no beds for
• I would have thought that money would have been better spent finding beds for our children.

Bills: HB1106, HB3284, HB541, HB713, HB1403, HB1586, HB1942, HB2070, HB2844, HB2851, HB3151, HB3749, HB3940, HB3963, HB4454, HB4466, HB4795, HB5154, HB5394, SB1357, HB1052, HB4099, HB4638, HB5147

Keywords: child abuse, neglect, gender identity, sexual orientation, child welfare, marriage, family, Texas Commission, family welfare, marriage support, stability, premarital education, child development, strong families, direct patient care, healthcare, physicians, medical services, insurance regulation, maternal health

Transcript Highlights:

• So we just started the new four, eight beds construction, but there are still additional buildings that
• The letter says the division will utilize savings in this incentive program to make more funding available
• the letter says the division will utilize savings in this incentive program to make for funding available
• Obviously, the funding that is made available through VOCA is very important.
• You know, obviously the funding that is made available through Voka is very important.

Summary: The committee met to review a large slate of fiscal year 2026 and 2027 appropriation, transfer, and continuation requests across multiple sections. Early items included temporary appropriations for agencies such as Health, DHS, Education, Public Safety, State Police, Emergency Management, Aeronautics, Military, Economic Development, and Game and Fish, covering items like maternal health outreach, energy assistance repayments, Wynne High School tornado rebuilding, senior food services, cybersecurity, crime victim reparations, aviation grants, conservation incentives, and emergency tower maintenance. Members asked questions on several items, including DHS aging carry-forward funds and Treasury custodial banking fees tied to COVID-era balances; the committee also approved a disclosure by the chair on the Game and Fish-related item before voting to approve the section. The committee then approved continuation requests, CARES Act and ARPA reallocations, and federal grant appropriations. Notable discussion included the Boonville developmental disability project, ALIGN program reallocations at several universities, a small business technical assistance grant at UA Little Rock, and a Department of Public Safety highway safety grant, for which members requested more detail on operating expenses and professional fees. Additional approvals covered a transfer to the Merit Teacher Incentive program, restricted reserve fund transfers for military medical command and university projects, and a state central services deduction held at 2%. The Department of Commerce also received approval for a reallocation of positions and spending authority tied to its organizational realignment. Later sections included shared technology and higher education transfers, cash fund appropriations for school Medicaid reimbursements, corrections, youth mental health, narcotics detection canines, bike safety equipment, a state motor pool pilot, and law enforcement safety costs. The committee also reviewed budget classification transfers, including a Governor’s Office legal fee transfer related to a California lawsuit, and heard explanations about E-Rate reimbursements affecting the Office of State Technology. Members asked about VOCA funding levels for crime victim services and about the National Security Grant Program for nonprofits and faith-based organizations; officials said federal funding had declined from prior highs but appeared to have stabilized, and that the nonprofit security grant is an annual federal program. The meeting concluded with review of pay plan requests, DHS overtime funding for child protection caseloads, and a year-end adjustment request allowing DFA to make up to $1 million in transfers to close the books, after which the committee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• Will Medicaid coverage be available? How is this going to be paid for? You're recognized.
• They wake up in the morning and go to bed at night, trying to save the lives of children that don't even
• This should be available so that kids don't have heart attacks on the field. Thank you.
• the providers who actually render care, hence the problem with network, hence the problem with availability
• this bill would decrease access to patient care because there still would not be enough opticians available

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So, it looks like based on that, there will be about a $439 million availability for supplemental appropriation
• It is estimated available revenue certified by the finance director and the legislative fiscal officer
• You've got a supplemental appropriation of $524 million available. The amount is $1.66 billion.
• I want to give everybody though, again, reference that the presentation is available online.
• That is a 4,000-bed facility with healthcare facilities, education facilities, and mental health facilities

Keywords: 924, joint, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:20:45.840> Madam<00:20:46.120> Speaker,<00:20:46.520> our in our beds at
• Madam Speaker, our in our beds at night.
• of the most affordable kind of housing that is available for Vermonters.
• of housing that is available for of housing that is available for Vermonters.<00:46:33.040> Your
• <01:21:31.880> to the civil legal remedies available to the civil legal remedies available

Keywords: 926, house, all

Summary: The House opened with a devotional reading for St. Patrick’s Day, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and the reading of a resignation letter from Representative Hooper of Burlington. The letter said the House environment had changed significantly and that he was resigning before the next cycle, while thanking colleagues and urging bold leadership to address major problems facing Vermonters. Members then received first readings and referrals for a large slate of bills. House bills introduced included measures on tax administration, hunting license fees, emergency management, oath and affirmation language in statutes, judiciary procedures, a Vermont homelessness response continuum, paperwork reduction, public utility subjects, municipal regulation of agriculture, miscellaneous agricultural subjects, and municipal permitting of ground-mounted solar arrays. Senate bills referred to House committees included vocational rehabilitation, home improvement and land improvement fraud, advanced metering infrastructure devices, water quality, and fair employment practices. Several other bills on the notice calendar were also referred to Ways and Means or Appropriations because they affected state revenue or carried appropriations. The House adopted two concurrent resolutions on the consent calendar: HCR 214, honoring Irish-American patriots and their role in American independence, and HCR 220, welcoming the USS Vermont’s namesake visit and designating April 18, 2026 as USS Vermont Day. Members also offered announcements recognizing guests from the USS Vermont and related veterans’ groups, remembering former Representative Ken Harvey, and noting upcoming events such as March Madness pools, the Legislative Cabaret, a Rural Caucus meeting, and a NAMI Walks team. On the floor calendar, H. 723 on posting of land was taken up, amended as recommended by the Committee on Environment, and ordered to third reading on a 10-0-1 committee vote. The House then began second reading of H. 757 on manufactured homes and limited equity cooperatives; committee members described manufactured housing as a key affordable housing option in Vermont and said the bill would clarify how these homes are purchased, titled, taxed, and financed, while reducing costs and improving consistency for homeowners, lenders, and municipalities.

Transcript Highlights:

• ><00:09:59.920> recipients those grants, the available recipients those grants, the available
• That is money that is available."
• That is money that is available."
• That is money that is available.
• That is money that is available.

Bills: HF3492, HF3493, HF3494, HF3495, HF3602

Keywords: school safety, grants, education funding, Northern Lights Express, security improvements, rural schools, safe schools, charter schools, nonpublic schools, Tribal education, funding increase, safe schools aid, school security, mental health support, Tribal schools, cybersecurity, funding, mental health, evidence-based plans, public safety

Transcript Highlights:

• came available in that particular unit.
• <01:49:09.199> came<01:49:09.440> available<01:49:09.920> in apartments or beds
• came available in apartments or beds came available in that<01:49:10.400> particular<01:49:10.960
• <01:55:15.360> of need to increase the availability of need to increase the availability of
• <02:00:42.400> For the supply of available housing. For the supply of available housing.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• c><00:07:49.920> everyone<00:07:50.280> else<00:07:50.600> whose Expanding the bed
• clears throat] >> [clears throat] >> Expanding<00:08:10.160> the<00:08:10.360> bed
• :10.560> capacity<00:08:11.120> piece<00:08:11.360> for >> Expanding the bed
• capacity piece for >> Expanding the bed capacity piece for Regions<00:08:11.800> Hospital.

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: Representative Schomacker delivered a lengthy farewell-style floor speech reflecting on his path into public service, from growing up around news and debate, to starting a teenage Republican group, serving as a page, and eventually being unexpectedly recruited to run for office. He described being elected despite early polling that had him far behind, and said the experience taught him to hold competing viewpoints at once and to focus on getting work done rather than ideological tests. He then reviewed major policy accomplishments from his legislative career, especially in health and human services. He highlighted work on the Lewis and Clark water project for Luverne, the competitive workforce factor in disability waiver rates, expansion of bed capacity at Regions Hospital, and, most prominently, the overhaul of long-term care nursing home funding to a value-based reimbursement system. He emphasized that these efforts required extensive research, negotiation, and input from stakeholders, and said they helped support local care, businesses, and communities. Schomacker also spoke about the importance of long-term care in his district, the aging population, and the role nursing homes play in emergencies. He thanked family, staff, colleagues, mentors, and friends for their support over 16 years in the Legislature, sharing several personal anecdotes and expressing gratitude for the relationships built across party and committee lines. The speech ended with applause and well-wishes; no formal vote or bill action occurred in the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• This slide highlights a few of the 12 Lahaina-specific fire-wise home designs now available on the Hoku
• now available on the Hoku Malu website. now available on the Hoku Malu website.
• So, in the last year, we've created almost 950 beds.
• In fact, 265 emergency shelter beds, 310 transitional housing beds, 128 specialty treatment beds, 234
• affordable housing beds.

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Participation is entirely voluntary and subject to available local resources and partnerships.
• Karen Jones: This includes residents tied with bed sheets, with garbage bags, and with belts.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Your support of 4-H directly impacts the opportunities available to youth across all 77 counties.
• prayer for him that he can just finish, because he made a deal when he was laying there in the hospital bed

Bills: HR1052, SB2184, SB171

Keywords: 4-H, youth development, community service, education, volunteering, Oklahoma, statutory revision, consolidation, law amendment, emergency legislation, legal clarity, SB171, state government, Capitol security, peace officer commission, legislative security, Department of Public Safety, Commissioner of Public Safety, President Pro Tempore, Speaker of the House

Transcript Highlights:

• Yes, they even house the mental health prisoners when They can't find a bed and they hold them until
• Chairman, the list of needs far exceeds the $5 million that we make available each year, and I have a

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The search was fueled by the hope of a miracle, and every resource available was committed.
• They get up and make their bed now. Because they believe.

Transcript Highlights:

• With this database, a reliable source of information will now be available where that information...
• But when you have a woman laying in bed, and you have a man saying, 'I rebuke that,' when you have a

Bills: HB403, HB224

Keywords: criminal enterprise, database, law enforcement, data privacy, criminal justice, HB224, Alabama, obstructing governmental operations, first responder, emergency responder, police, firefighter, EMT, paramedic, public safety, harassment, interference with emergency personnel, crime, Class A misdemeanor, emergency scene

Transcript Highlights:

• With more states joining the compact, more social workers are available to serve client populations.
• It's only available in English, yet BC offers an entire MSW program in Spanish.
• I go to bed and get ready to do it all again the next day.
• So open educational resources, or OER, are textbooks that are freely available.
• So open educational resources, or OER, are textbooks that are freely available. Higher education.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Higher Education heard testimony on a broad set of bills focused on making public higher education more affordable and accessible, protecting student information, and changing social work licensure rules. Chair Rogers and Senator Comerford opened by emphasizing the committee’s focus on financial aid, tuition and fee waivers, scholarships, admissions, and institutional changes, and they reminded witnesses about the three-minute testimony limit. No votes were taken during the hearing. A large portion of the hearing centered on the “Super Act” (H. 1423/S. 218), which would eliminate the master’s-level social work licensing exam and create grant support for social work internships. Supporters—including students, practitioners, educators, and advocates—argued that unpaid internships and the exam create financial barriers, worsen workforce shortages, and disproportionately affect Black, brown, older, ESL, and other marginalized candidates. Opponents from the Association of Social Work Boards argued the exam is a necessary public-protection standard, helps maintain uniform licensure, and is important to the social work licensure compact; they said workforce shortages should be addressed through pay, working conditions, and caseloads instead. Committee members asked detailed questions about compact participation, exam accommodations, and how other states such as Rhode Island and Connecticut have handled similar changes. The committee also heard extensive testimony in favor of debt-free public higher education bills (H. 1436/S. 929). Witnesses, including students, faculty, advocates, and Senator Eldridge, said Massachusetts should expand on free community college by covering tuition and mandatory fees at public colleges and universities, with additional aid for living costs for lower-income students. Supporters said student debt delays homeownership, family formation, and career entry, and that the state should use Fair Share revenue to invest in public higher education. Some committee members voiced support but also raised concerns about prioritizing K-12 funding and the cost of expanding free college further. Several witnesses also supported bills to extend tuition and fee waivers to young adults raised by grandparents or other kinship guardians outside the DCF system, arguing that these students face the same trauma and financial barriers as foster youth but do not receive the same benefits. Representative Donato, Joseph O’Leary, Shauna Manning, Sandra Vecchio, Karen Gardner, Judy Walter, Elaine Arsenault, and others described the financial strain on grandparents raising grandchildren and urged parity with DCF-related waivers. In addition, Senator Jake Oliveira testified for a bill to protect public higher education student directory information from data mining and unauthorized sharing, and Deirdre Cummings testified for an open educational resources bill to reduce textbook costs. The hearing concluded with continued testimony on kinship care and college access, with committee members thanking witnesses and indicating follow-up on some bill language issues.

Transcript Highlights:

• Others have had to manage enrollment based on available funding, more than half of which comes from the
• When are the plans going to be available to the Legislature per the budget act and the time frame of
• It expands on-campus housing capacity by more than 960 beds and our overall bed count by nearly 50%.
• Finally, the state funding is also available to restore some programs slated initially for suspension
• Finally, the state funding is also available to restore some programs slated initially for suspension

Summary: The joint Assembly Higher Education and Budget Subcommittee hearing focused on the future of the California State University system, with opening remarks emphasizing CSU’s major role in California’s economy, workforce, and degree production. Chairs and members said the hearing was intended to inform 2026 budget decisions and to examine three main issues: declining enrollment at some campuses, cost controls and possible consolidation, and oversight of recent state investments at campuses such as Humboldt and Sonoma. The meeting was briefly delayed by microphone and sound problems before reconvening. The first panel featured CSU Academic Senate Chair Dr. Elizabeth Boyd and Cal State Student Association Vice President Katie Karam. Boyd urged the Legislature to protect academic freedom, strengthen faculty governance, provide stable ongoing funding, end unfunded mandates, support student food and housing security, fund flexible course schedules, improve transfer systems such as ASSIST, avoid over-centralizing academic programs, protect immigrant students, and expand intersegmental collaboration. Karam said students are feeling the effects of budget shortfalls through fewer course sections, reduced advising and services, longer time to degree, and tuition pressure, and she called for transparency, meaningful student involvement in budget decisions, and sustained state investment rather than cuts that harm the student experience. The second panel covered enrollment management and included CSU Chancellor’s Office and campus administrators from Chico State, Cal State L.A., and San Diego State. Dr. Delcy Perez said CSU Forward and the new systemwide enrollment plan are aimed at expanding access, aligning programs with workforce needs, and increasing resident enrollment; she reported systemwide enrollment gains and strong application numbers, including a direct-admissions pilot that expanded from Riverside to more campuses. Campus representatives described local recruitment and retention strategies, including early outreach to high school students, community college partnerships, guaranteed admission programs, and expanded advising and student support. San Diego State highlighted record enrollment and high demand, while Cal State L.A. described efforts to recover from impaction and rebuild enrollment. Members pressed CSU officials on the accuracy of enrollment data, the gap between funded targets and actual enrollment, and the system’s reallocation formula. CSU staff explained that campuses below target will see a 5% ongoing reallocation beginning in 2026-27, with one-time reserve funding also being directed to campuses that can grow, and that fiscal health reviews have been completed for 21 of 22 campuses. Legislators also asked about turnaround plans required by the budget act; CSU said those plans are being developed and will be shared in the spring after campus consultation. No formal votes were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• So I send them back home to their own bed at night.
• Um, what, what are you hoping, so you want it to be available to serve what purpose?
• More readily available. It's available now, right, in Texas. It's available now by prescription.
• And having something ready available.
• Something that's available on the shelf. Well, that's what this would be.

Bills: HB 265, HB25

Keywords: youth camp, safety regulations, advisory committee, child welfare, health standards, summer camp, camp safety, child abuse reporting, child neglect, mandatory reporting, background check, criminal history check, sex offender registry, CPR training, first aid, public health, child protection, camp operator, camp counselor, Health and Safety Code

Transcript Highlights:

• oldest tower in the nation, and this is an important bill because there's federal funding that's available
• okay it's a much higher at the road bed okay it's a much higher percentage percentage percentage um<
• to be appropriated at the available to be appropriated at the levels<01:19:30.239> that<01:19
• I think we're working even harder to try to figure out how we can make that available within 14 days,
• at at the the blackout plates available at at the motor<01:27:45.960> vehicle<01:27:46.320>

Bills: HF198, HF269, HF185, HF303, HF305, HF189

Keywords: HF198, shared time pupils, shared-time enrollment, nonpublic school, private school, public school, career and technical education, CTE, secondary credit, school funding, state aid, education finance, Minnesota Statutes 126C.01, compulsory attendance, school district, education policy, HF269, Spicer, Minnesota bonding bill, capital investment

Transcript Highlights:

• of them have the belief that they could have a steady supply of shrimp if they opened up that availability
• So how, like, something is missing if shrimp is so plentiful and so available, then you shouldn't have
• some of the large farmers as it relates to communicating with USDA about the funding opportunities available
• It would have 1,300 beds, and it would be a benefit to the coastal parishes of Louisiana, at either place

Summary: The House Committee on Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture, and Rural Development met with a quorum, adopted the minutes from its October 3, 2024 meeting, and Chairwoman Butler noted that HCR 82 would be voluntarily deferred in favor of continuing work on HCR 77 related to a pilot program for landscaping and crawfishing. The committee then considered HCR 205, which urges the USDA to use its Commodity Procurement Program to purchase domestic Louisiana shrimp. Representative Kerner and Commissioner Mike Strain described the shrimp industry’s low prices, full cold storage, and the need for urgent federal action to support shrimpers and move product into schools, nursing homes, and food banks. Members discussed domestic sourcing rules, enforcement against imported seafood, and marketing challenges; HCR 205 was reported favorably without objection. The committee also took up HCR 188, which memorializes Congress to oppose any federal farm bill provision that could negatively affect the use of hunting dogs. Chairwoman Butler and Commissioner Strain explained that the concern centered on vague language in a farm bill section that could be interpreted to restrict hunting dogs used for tracking or field trials. Members agreed the language should be removed if it remained in the bill, and HCR 188 was reported favorably without objection. The committee then heard a presentation from Orlando McMeans of the Southern University Ag Center and College of Agriculture, along with Dr. Calvin Walker. They outlined the center’s research, extension, and academic programs, including enrollment growth, dual-enrollment efforts, 1890 scholars, JAG Stars scholarships, beef cattle and aquaculture research, viticulture, precision nutrition, and food access initiatives. They also described major facility projects, including a high-tech meat processing facility, research labs, a vineyard, and a proposed disaster-safe shelter. Members asked about butcher training, cattle genetics, and the shelter’s potential uses, and the committee adjourned after the presentation.