Transcript Highlights:

• Californians with disabilities, older adults on fixed incomes, people without stable income, or with
• , or chronic health conditions, and people who are eligible for services for the developmentally disabled
• and individuals, ...needs populations that includes people with disabilities and individuals experiencing
• However, domestic violence survivors who face some of the most immediate and severe housing disabilities
• rental assistance to afford housing, the majority of whom are seniors, children, and people with disabilities

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Committee on Housing met without a quorum at first and operated as a subcommittee, then later established a quorum and took up several housing-related bills. Early presentations focused on AB 2390, a cleanup measure to clarify streamlined housing approvals and how modifications are reviewed; AB 1890, which would increase state matching funds for Napa County farmworker housing centers; and AB 956, which would clarify accessory dwelling unit law by allowing more flexibility in how ADUs are built and by clarifying application of ADU protections in common interest developments. Supporters for these bills emphasized predictability, farmworker housing stability, and expanded housing options for multigenerational families, while opponents of AB 956 raised concerns about neighborhood density, infrastructure, and local control. AB 956 drew the most extensive debate. Committee members discussed whether it was a clarification or expansion of ADU law, the potential for triggering density bonus rules, and possible local government costs. The author accepted committee amendments to avoid allowing a third ADU/JADU combination that could trigger density bonus implications. The committee then voted to do pass AB 956 as amended to the Senate Committee on Local Government, with one no vote recorded and the bill held on call for absent members. The committee also took votes on the consent calendar and on AB 2390 and AB 1890, but those measures were likewise held on call for absent members after favorable motions. The committee also heard AB 939, which would let developers transfer income-restricted ownership units to qualified nonprofit affordable housing organizations without waiting 180 days after certificate of occupancy. Supporters, including Habitat for Humanity and California YIMBY, said the bill would reduce vacancy, carrying costs, and help preserve long-term affordability. The California Association of Realtors opposed the bill unless amended, arguing it could limit buyer choice, codify first-right-of-refusal practices, and reduce wealth-building opportunities for families. After discussion, the bill was moved to the Senate Appropriations Committee on a do pass motion and held on call. Later bills included AB 1165, which would require state housing agencies to create a fiscal analysis and financial plan for ending homelessness; AB 1184, which would add transparency and open-meeting style requirements for homeowners associations; and AB 2035, a narrowly tailored measure to help Laguna Woods Village update outdated CC&Rs by lowering the vote threshold needed to seek court approval. AB 1165 and AB 2035 both received broad support and were moved forward on do pass motions, while AB 1184 also advanced despite late opposition from the California Association of Realtors. The committee then began hearing AB 1573, which would add survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking to local housing element target populations, but the transcript cuts off before that bill’s testimony or any vote.

Transcript Highlights:

• My name is Conrad Crump with Disability Rights California.
• I want to offer strong support for community schools because of their impact on students with disabilities
• So, very briefly, if we're serious about educational equity and disability justice, investing in community
• My name is Conrad Crump with Disability Rights California.
• So very briefly, if we're serious about educational equity and disability justice, investing in community

Summary: The joint informational and oversight hearing focused on community schools in California, with members emphasizing that the purpose was to examine effectiveness, implementation, and sustainability rather than the Governor’s budget proposal. The California Department of Education described the California Community Schools Partnership Program, created in 2021 and funded with more than $4 billion, including planning, implementation, extension, and county coordination grants. Officials said nearly 2,500 schools are participating and highlighted the statewide technical assistance structure, including the State Transformational Assistance Center, eight regional centers, county offices, and CDE support. Researchers from the Learning Policy Institute and UCLA presented early findings and implementation data. LPI reported reductions in chronic absenteeism and suspensions, along with gains in math and English language arts, with especially large benefits for Black students and other historically underserved groups. UCLA described the Annual Progress Report as a statewide improvement tool showing growth in capacity-building, shared decision-making, whole-child supports, and continuous improvement. Members asked about how the reports measure outcomes, how to interpret outliers, and how to distinguish community schools effects from other concurrent initiatives; presenters said matched comparison methods and deeper case-study work are being used, with additional statewide findings expected in June. Panelists from Oakland Unified, LAUSD/UTLA, San Diego Unified, and advocacy organizations described key elements of success: integrated student supports, strong family and student engagement, collaborative leadership, community partnerships, and school-site decision-making. They gave examples such as wellness centers, dual enrollment, student senates, parent leadership, and community campaigns that built trust and increased participation. Members also raised concerns about sustainability, implementation fidelity, and whether community schools improve participation in LCAP processes. Presenters said major barriers include unclear early guidance, the need for a mindset shift away from top-down models, and uncertainty about long-term funding for coordinators and other staff. The panel’s recommendations centered on stable ongoing funding, stronger technical assistance, shared governance, and embedding community schools practices into district and county systems.

Transcript Highlights:

• hospice care, long-term care coverage, programs for senior care, and healthcare for those with disabilities
• The Governor's proposed budget absolutely devastated families that have an individual with disabilities
• a lot of members here who have really taken this to heart, whether it's IHSS, individuals with disabilities
• Emelyn Shabbard with the California Disability Services Association.
• These proposals would have destabilized care for low-income seniors and people with disabilities.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• the families where this may involve families who speak a language other than English or have a disability
• additional assistance due to their need additional assistance due to their own<00:21:24.799> disability
• Section two on page 46 own disability.
• c><00:21:55.120> a that's other than English or has a that's other than English or has a disability
• . ility as well as a um disability. ility as well as a um process<00:21:58.240> to<00:21:58.559

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm a legal advocate at the Minnesota Disability Law Center, which is part of Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid
• I myself live with the impacts of an invisible disability every single day.
• disability law center which<00:23:58.640> is<00:23:58.799> part<00:23:58.960> of
• 00:25:44.880> an<00:25:45.120> in<00:25:45.520> invisible<00:25:46.159> disability
• <00:25:46.960> every of an in invisible disability every of an in invisible disability every

Bills: HF2300

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• In this role, she tirelessly advocates not only for individuals with disabilities, but for all students
• ,<00:32:06.240> but<00:32:06.399> for individuals with disabilities, but for individuals
• with disabilities, but for all<00:32:06.880> students<00:32:07.200> to<00:32:07.440>
• with educational experience for students with educational experience for students with disabilities
• Lauren, I now yield the disabilities.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The Hospital, Medicaid, and Developmental Disabilities Studies Subcommittee met on February 24th at the
• Jennifer Brisei, Director of the Division of Developmental Disability Services.
• Adult Mental Disability Services.
• Jennifer Brisei, Director of the Division of Developmental Disability Services.
• Adult Mental Disability Services.

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The fifth instance of amendment is the payment reform for the developmental disability services, or people
• Wheels specifically for those that are, uh, under 60 years of age and but are individuals with disabilities
• The fifth instance of amendment is the payment reform for the developmental disability services, or people
• Wheels specifically for those that are, uh, under 60 years of age and but are individuals with disabilities
• The fifth instance of amendment is the payment reform for the developmental disability services, or people

Keywords: 927, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• For counties to navigate, the one that was the disability deduction used to be that if you were a hundred
• percent disabled, you were exempted from a hundred percent of your property taxes.
• that fiscal impact is going to be because you don't know the cost until that individual with that disability
• We certainly have veterans who are 10%, 20%, or 30% disabled that have very substantial property investments
• This includes seniors on value freeze and other disabled individuals who are not veteran disabled.

Transcript Highlights:

• And you can filter by various criteria, including charter school status, disability exception.
• Also, there is a Florida alternate assessment for students with disabilities that's in state law.
• This is this is provided for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities.
• The law also provides the waiver of assessment requirements for students with disabilities from an IP
• You mentioned students with disabilities are accommodations for students if they cannot access mature

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Naomi Mathis, the Assistant National Legislative Director for Disabled American Veterans, and John Eaton
• In my experience, both my wife, who is a veteran and a service-connected disabled veteran, and I have
• I really appreciate Disabled American Veterans.
• They actually helped me get my VA disability rating. So, thank you so much.
• Just as bad as we do in the VA with information coming back and forth regarding this disabled veteran

Transcript Highlights:

• The disability advocacy community asked Rep.
• disabilities themselves.
• And ABLE is a statewide<00:22:24.480> disability<00:22:24.960> justice statewide disability
• 00:22:36.320> this for people with disabilities, this for people with disabilities, this crisis
• <00:22:48.640> to that allow people with disabilities to that allow people with disabilities

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• will receive special with disabilities will receive special education education education services<00
• <01:15:40.280> theou<01:15:41.280> has students with disabilities theou has students
• with disabilities theou has nothing<01:15:41.920> to<01:15:42.120> do<01:15:42.560>
• <01:18:07.400> enrolled<01:18:07.800> in and youth with disabilities enrolled in and
• youth with disabilities enrolled in New<01:18:08.040> Hampshire<01:18:08.719> public<01

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Disabled veteran being declared disabled by— Disabled veteran being declared disabled by— >> Senator,
• These are not people that are 50%, 70% totally disabled. >> Correct.
• >> I cuz we got a lot of disabilities >> I cuz we got a lot of disabilities that's<01:30:
• Not some of those people who disability.
• This was the decal for the invisible disabilities.

Keywords: 920, all

Summary: The Alabama Senate convened with prayer, the pledge, and a quorum present, then quickly handled routine business including excusing absent senators, adopting the prior journal, and recognizing several guests in the gallery. The chamber also paused to honor Dr. Mark Sullivan, superintendent of Birmingham City Schools, with a Senate resolution commending him as the Alabama Education Association’s 2025-26 outstanding superintendent of the year. Senator Smitherman and Dr. Sullivan both spoke, with Sullivan highlighting Birmingham’s academic gains, reduced failing schools, and lower chronic absenteeism. The Senate then processed a series of House messages and confirmations. It concurred in SB 288 on agriculture authorities and SB 317 on the Alabama Commission on the Evaluation of Services, but non-concurred and sent SB 174 on natural resources and SB 32 on solid waste collection fees to conference. The chamber confirmed numerous appointments, including Rex Jones, William Donahue, Jim Massey, Jason Windham, Alexander Atwater, Charles Dean, Steve McKinnon, Bonnie Temple, Shaniqua Johnson-Enam, Dwayne Jenkins, Troy Skipworth, Gloria Watts, Tracy Doughty, Kevin Ball, Joe D. Briggs, Josh Bryant, Dylan Turk, David R. Pruitt III, and Carol Smitherman, with most confirmations passing on near-unanimous rolls. Committee reports advanced several House bills, including favorable reports on HB 224, 591, 614, 609, 444, 248, 611, 622, 92, and 556, with HB 248 amended. The Senate also adopted a resolution honoring the University of Alabama women’s wheelchair basketball team for winning the 2026 national championship, and another resolution recognizing the seriousness of the national debt and urging Congress to establish regular budget order. A resolution honoring retired Brigadier General Vandiver H. Carter as the 2026 Marion Military Institute Alumnus of the Year and a resolution commending John R. Cooper were also adopted. In local legislation, the Senate passed HB 635 for Choctaw County, HB 639 for Escambia County, SB 10 for Tuscaloosa County, HB 315 for class one municipalities after adopting a committee substitute and a friendly amendment, and HB 404 for class one municipalities. Finally, the Committee on Rules reported and the Senate adopted a special order calendar for the next legislative day, listing a wide range of bills for priority consideration, including measures on solar power facilities, homestead exemptions, education, guardianships, tax increment districts, legal tender, college tuition, crime victims compensation, motor vehicles, entertainment industry issues, campus chaplains, tax abatements, alcoholic beverage producers, data privacy, constables, insurance, municipal audits, income tax, public high schools, taxation, state health planning, and University of Alabama matters.

Transcript Highlights:

• map for students with disabilities map for students with disabilities fostering<00:57:38.920>
• My name is Marin Christensen Hofer, and I am a parent of a child with a disability, and I also serve
• and there's a reason that disabilities and there's a reason that this<01:03:42.640> period<01
• I am also the parent of two teenagers with disabilities.
• are adequately prepared to disabilities are adequately prepared to be<01:07:28.079> successful

Bills: HF1124, HF1457, HF1803

Keywords: school calendar, education, school year, Labor Day, state law, school construction, landfill, dump site, closed landfill, contaminated site, pollution control agency, school siting, public school, charter school, environmental health, student safety, brownfield, solid waste, waste disposal site, site contamination

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:19:01.039> the<00:19:01.559> elderly<00:19:02.200> and<00:19:02.440> disabled
• assistance to the elderly and disabled assistance to the elderly and disabled whether<00:19:03.159
• <00:23:17.200> so<00:23:17.360> it's also assistance for the disabled so it's also
• assistance for the disabled so it's not<00:23:17.600> necessarily<00:23:18.000> that<00
• <00:23:26.679> so assistance the elderly and disabled so assistance the elderly and disabled

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Home care aides support people who need extended care due to age or disability in many different settings
• Home care aides support people who need extended care due to age or disability in many different settings
• assistants, and similar positions versus the number of people who identified themselves as having a disability
• We observed that New York had the most workers per disabled person, while Alabama had the fewest.

Summary: The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee held a public hearing on the State Auditor’s Office performance audit of Washington’s Restoring Quality Home Care Initiative (I-1163). Auditors said the initiative’s background checks and 75-hour training requirement are widely viewed as safety measures, but the state lacks pre-2011 data to directly measure safety outcomes. They also found Washington’s long-term care workforce is still short, though the state ranks better than many others in workers per disabled person, and that some groups and regions have larger gaps between authorized and actually used Medicaid care hours, suggesting access problems for certain clients. The audit focused heavily on the certification process for home care aides. Auditors reported that many applicants never finish certification, that the process often exceeds the 200-day legal deadline, and that delays can cause lost income, job loss, and in some cases repeated employer changes that allow aides to keep working without becoming certified. They recommended that the Department of Health accept applications only after training and testing are completed, move testing into training programs more broadly, and eliminate redundant DOH verification of FBI background checks. Committee members asked about testing contract incentives, language access, and the role of immigration in workforce shortages; auditors said they found no financial performance standards in the Prometric contract, did not specifically study immigration status, and did not focus on language barriers in this audit. Department of Health and Department of Social and Health Services officials largely agreed with the audit’s findings and recommendations. They said they have already made improvements, including expanded in-program testing, more staffing, and rule changes, and that testing has been integrated into more than 110 training programs. DSHS noted testing is offered in 13 languages. Both agencies said they support further streamlining and expect continued collaboration, including possible budget or legislative requests. No public testimony was offered, and the committee adjourned without taking any vote or formal action on the audit.

Transcript Highlights:

• We continue to underinvest in services for people with disabilities, balancing budgets on their backs
• underinvest in services for<00:05:05.600> people<00:05:05.960> with<00:05:06.120> disabilities
• ,<00:05:06.960> balancing for people with disabilities, balancing for people with disabilities

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: Representative Reyer delivered a farewell floor speech as she prepared to move to the Senate, thanking House staff, colleagues on both sides of the aisle, her predecessors Laurie Halverson and Sandy Meehan, her constituents, family, caucus, and the “Corona class.” She reflected on entering the House during early COVID, after George Floyd’s murder and amid wildfire smoke, and said her constituents sent her to fight for justice, affordable health care, and a future where Minnesotans can afford their lives. She highlighted policy accomplishments she said were often bipartisan, including medical debt and garnishment reform, treatment access for children with rare diseases, support for Medicaid dental care, housing and bonding funding, solar on public buildings, and stability for soil and water conservation districts. She also pointed to disappointments, saying the House had seen health care stripped from immigrant neighbors, duplicate health plans, families left without needed home care, underinvestment in disability services, and no Republican support for protecting people from future ICE incursions. Reyer closed by calling for protection of human rights, including for queer and trans people, reproductive rights, immigrants, tribal sovereignty, and voting rights, and urged members to listen to one another, honor agreements, reject divisiveness, and govern with compassion. She also thanked Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman for her leadership. The transcript does not indicate any vote or formal action taken during the speech.

Transcript Highlights:

• increases for home and community-based services to support the elderly and persons with physical disabilities
• increases for home and community-based services to support the elderly and persons with physical disabilities
• Armed Forces who has a disability rating of 30% or more and is an Arizona resident or was stationed in
• Armed Forces who has a disability rating of 30% or more and is an Arizona resident or was stationed in

Keywords: 1182, all

Summary: The meeting was a caucus-style review of two packets of bills, with staff reading summaries and members briefly explaining several measures. Topics included appropriations for pregnancy resource centers, home- and community-based services for the elderly and people with disabilities, veteran specialty courts, child care grants and infrastructure, language acquisition services for deaf or hard-of-hearing infants and toddlers, ambulance service regulation, short-term rental rules, tourism improvement areas, manufactured home installer licensure, CPR/AED training in schools, veterans’ park fee exemptions, and multiple child welfare and family-court bills. Several Senate bills were also reviewed, including optometry standards, behavior analyst licensure transfer, virtual mental health hearings, and assisted-living residency rules. Members speaking for bills emphasized themes such as supporting aging in place, improving rural ambulance access and reporting, protecting children in DCS cases, preventing poverty alone from being treated as neglect, and expanding access to health screenings and services. Other sponsors described measures to help veterans, strengthen school safety, and create local funding or improvement mechanisms for tourism and child care. Some bills were described as technical or administrative changes, such as post-nuptial agreement rules, tax lien procedures, and local government contract posting requirements. No formal votes were taken in the transcript excerpt, but many bills were noted as being on the consent calendar or third-read consent calendar, while a few had been removed from consent or were not yet on a calendar. The meeting concluded after the final bill on the second packet, HB 4025, was summarized as creating a study committee on gasoline and petroleum refinery feasibility.

Transcript Highlights:

• should be going to a kid with autism or a homeless person or a person living with significant disabilities
• person or a person living with homeless person or a person living with significant<00:04:13.519> disabilities
• <00:04:14.480> And<00:04:14.640> so<00:04:14.879> these significant disabilities
• And so these significant disabilities.

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: House DFL leader Stevenson said the tied House will require cooperation, noting the caucus has tried to model bipartisan work through co-chairs and that he has a good working relationship with Speaker Damuth. He highlighted the three new DFL special-election winners—Xp Lee, Shelley Buck, and Meg Luger-Nikolai—as bringing health, tribal leadership, nonprofit, labor, and education experience to the chamber. On policy, Stevenson said DFLers want to push back against certain federal immigration enforcement tactics, including masked officers and warrantless entries, and tied the issue to the murder of former Speaker Melissa Hortman. He also said the caucus will pursue gun restrictions such as bans on assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, binary triggers, and ghost guns, while acknowledging that Republican leadership would need to allow a floor vote for any bill to advance. He added that DFLers are open to and will lead on fraud prevention, especially in programs serving vulnerable Minnesotans, and said those who steal public funds should face prison. Looking ahead to the second year of the biennium, Stevenson said he hopes for a large bonding bill focused on statewide infrastructure needs, but warned he will not support using bonding as leverage for unrelated policy concessions. He also said affordability will be a major focus, especially food, energy, housing, and health care costs, and argued Minnesota should try to counter rising premiums and hold insurers and pharmaceutical companies accountable.