Transcript Highlights:

• down to our halfway house level of care to support the To our halfway house level of care to support
• It talks about what SEPI is, what it does, CAPTA, building a family care plan.
• There's a labor and delivery unit collaboration project.
• Collaborating with DCF on supporting these best practices.
• Practice Improvement Collaborative.

Keywords: 962, all

Summary: The meeting focused on maternal health and behavioral health services for pregnant and postpartum people in Connecticut. Dr. Fatmata Williams of DSS gave an update on the Husky maternity payment bundle, explaining that it was created in response to worsening maternal and neonatal outcomes and racial disparities. She said the bundle, launched in 2025, shifts payment away from fee-for-service toward prospective case rates, quality measures, and shared savings, while covering services such as doulas and maintaining access to behavioral health and other non-pregnancy-related care outside the bundle. She noted 26 maternity practices are participating, quarterly quality reports have been distributed, reconciliation is planned for 2026, and DSS is considering refinements such as adding newborns, revisiting shared losses, and possibly expanding to FQHCs after further stakeholder review. Shelly Nolan of DMHAS then described the state’s women’s services and recovery continuum, including pregnant and parenting treatment programs, women’s recovery support programs, community transition support with rent subsidies, the Proud program, REACH navigation, recovery houses, and outpatient services. She emphasized that many programs are under capacity and that DMHAS uses a no-wrong-door approach, real-time bed availability, technical assistance, and training to improve access. She also reviewed initiatives tied to substance-exposed pregnancies and safe sleep, secure storage, naloxone distribution, reproductive health integration, breastfeeding support, and upcoming conferences and trainings. She said the department works closely with DCF and community partners to reduce stigma and improve family-centered care. Beth Garrigan presented on the Access Mental Health and Substance Use for Moms program, a statewide consultation service for providers serving pregnant and postpartum individuals up to 12 months after delivery. She said the program offers real-time psychiatric consultation, referral support, and one-time face-to-face assessments, and has provided more than 4,300 consultations and resource/referral support to over 700 individuals since 2022. Members and legislators praised the service and discussed how it helps providers connect patients to care, follow up on referrals, and address barriers such as fit, stigma, and workflow. No votes were taken; the meeting ended with plans for the next meeting on June 8 and a request for Dr. Williams’ slides to be posted online.

Transcript Highlights:

• the collaborative care model.
• Collaborative care models have been shown to lower overall health care costs by reducing emergency room
• Collaborative care models have been shown to lower overall health care costs by reducing emergency room
• Collaborative care models have been shown to lower overall health care costs by reducing emergency room
• So what's the solution here is the collaborative care model.

Keywords: 00:00 - Call to Order/Roll Call 02:05 - Discussion of 26RS HB 178 14:05 - Roll Call Vote on 26RS HB 178 15:05 - Discussion of 26RS HB 280 20:00 - Roll Call Vote on 26RS HB 280 22:00 - Discussion of 26RS HJR 24 24:30 - Roll Call Vote on 26RS HJR 24 26:00 - Adjournment, 958, all

Summary: The Health Services Committee met for the first time in the 2026 session and established a quorum before taking up three measures. House Bill 178, sponsored by Rep. Kim Moser with support from the Kentucky Psychiatric Medical Association, was presented as a budget-neutral collaborative care model to improve access to mental health treatment in primary care settings. Testimony emphasized workforce shortages, long wait times, stigma, and the potential for the model to reduce costs and improve outcomes by having primary care providers work with behavioral health care managers and psychiatric consultants. The bill received a favorable recommendation by roll call vote. The committee then considered House Bill 280, also sponsored by Rep. Moser. The bill and committee amendment were described as cleanup and policy updates affecting Kentucky Board of Nursing licensure standards, including restoring language related to abuse, neglect, and exploitation in the central registry, preserving the board’s ability to investigate out-of-state applicants, and adding an emergency provision. The bill also updated school medication provisions to allow certain prescribed rescue medications, including bronchodilator inhalers, nebulizers, glucagon, Solu-Cortef, and updated epinephrine delivery. The committee adopted the amendment, approved the bill with favorable expression, and then approved a motion to roll the committee amendment into the House committee substitute. Finally, the committee took up House Joint Resolution 24, sponsored by Rep. Ken Fleming, with a committee substitute adopted first. The resolution was explained as a request for the cabinet to withdraw a previously submitted Medicaid-related waiver application so it could be resubmitted under new requirements tied to House Resolution 1. The committee approved the resolution with favorable expression and also adopted a title amendment. The meeting concluded with notice that the next committee meeting would be Thursday, January 22nd at noon.

Transcript Highlights:

• for within their system of care.
• So what I would say... ...has experience in the foster care system.
• providers. ...at every, so we look at all of our residential care providers.
• Services provided in these various settings include behavioral health care, care coordination, individual
• Parents caring for CSE youth.

Summary: The Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs received three presentations and took no bill votes. The Department of Children and Families gave an extensive update on human trafficking prevention and services, describing Florida’s statutory framework, hotline and investigation data, placement options such as safe houses and safe foster homes, new adult safe house certification rules, expanded screening tools for vulnerable adults, and prevention efforts including youth-led outreach and training. Members asked about whether current funding is sufficient, how DCF addresses grooming and re-victimization in residential settings, and how long youth typically remain in safe-house placements; DCF said funding is only one part of the support system, that families and youth receive prevention resources even when allegations are not substantiated, and that placement length varies by child. OPPAGA then presented its 2024 annual report on commercial sexual exploitation of children. The report found that verified CSE victims slightly declined in 2023, with Broward, Miami-Dade, Duval, Hillsborough, and Escambia among the highest-prevalence counties. Most verified victims were community youth rather than children already in care, though dependent youth had higher rates of prior maltreatment. OPPAGA also reported continued concerns about limited placement capacity, especially for less restrictive Tier 1 safe houses, and service gaps such as the need for survivor mentors. Its recommendations focused on expanding placement options, improving data collection, and strengthening collaboration to support survivor mentors. Finally, DCF presented the Step into Success pilot program for current and former foster youth ages 16 to 26. The program combines workforce education, professional development, and paid internships with mentor support; the first cohort launched in 2024 with 15 participants, all of whom secured placements, and the department reported strong satisfaction and early outcomes. Committee members asked about scalability, costs, and whether the model could be moved beyond DCF-run operations into community-based providers. DCF said the program was designed to be scalable, currently costs about $500,000 annually for the pilot, and could be expanded statewide with additional funding and partner support. The committee adjourned after the presentations.

Transcript Highlights:

• It was really a collaboration between the child care licensing bureau, the Child Care Advisory Council
• It was really a collaboration between the Child Care Licensing Bureau, the Child Care Advisory Council
• Our collaboration with the child care licensing unit is continuing.
• care.
• So we affordability of child care.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Summary: The meeting opened without a quorum, so approval of the prior draft minutes was deferred until later. The committee then heard a DHS update from Commissioner Lori Weaver and COO David Weers, who described the recent flood at the Brown building and the relocation of nearly 400 DHS staff while operations are restored. They also outlined New Hampshire Care Connections, a privacy- and consent-focused closed-loop referral platform intended to improve referrals among providers, reduce duplication, and support continuity of care, with an Upper Valley implementation partnered with Dartmouth Health and an Epic integration already underway. Members asked whether the system would merge medical records or simply track referrals. DHS said it is not intended to store or transmit full medical records, but to integrate with providers’ electronic health record systems so referrals can be sent, received, and tracked, with consent controls limiting what information can be shared. Officials said the project will be tested over the coming months, with metrics, governance, and advisory committee oversight, and that it is tied to broader rural health transformation efforts and statewide implementation after the regional pilot. The committee also received the annual report from the Child Care Advisory Council. Maryanne Barter and Jessica Carver said the council worked with licensing to streamline the child care licensing rules, reducing the handbook by about 30%, and is now helping develop an informal dispute resolution process, revising the Granite Steps for Quality system, and creating a clearer handbook for providers handling state scholarship audits. They reported ongoing concern about child care closures and workforce shortages, said there is currently no wait list for child care assistance, and discussed questions about federal CCDF immunization requirements, which DHS said it would follow up on with federal technical assistance partners. After quorum was established, the committee moved to approve the minutes from the prior meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• The definition of other health care providers in our interpretation, The definition of other health care
• Now, if LSCW has a collaborative... ...Now, if LSCW has a collaborative agreement with Dr.
• Care planning and care coordination within our team and with other health care providers that will provide
• care for the patient.
• Well, part of clinical care, routine clinical care.

Keywords: 959, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Care is delivered through an interdisciplinary model that includes collaboration with our medical director
• That level of micromanagement does not equate to better care.
• and collaborating with stakeholders.
• This is in part what brought them to the rest home level of care.
• care partnerships.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The Joint Committee on Aging and Independence held a hearing on two assisted living bills, Senate 3057 and House 5376, which would create an Assisted Living Residence Trust Fund to support certification staffing, compliance reviews, complaint investigations, ombudsman services, public reporting, appeals, and oversight. Testimony from MassALA, AARP, and the Long-Term Care Ombudsman generally supported the bills and the dedicated funding stream, but MassALA urged amendments to expand career pathways for staff through certified medication aides and to add guardrails on the use of fines as a funding source. The Ombudsman supported the fund and emphasized the need for additional staffing to better serve the state’s assisted living residents. Committee members asked for draft amendment language, and the chairs indicated they were open to further discussion, especially on fines and CMA language. The committee then heard testimony on Senate 3056 and House 5243 regarding medication administration in rest homes. Providers, including the Massachusetts Association of Residential Care Homes, LeadingAge Massachusetts, and several rest home operators, opposed proposed Department of Public Health changes that would eliminate the long-standing “responsible person” model and move rest homes toward the Medication Administration Program (MAP). Witnesses said the current model has been used for decades, is tailored to rest homes, and is essential to affordability, staffing stability, and resident continuity of care; they warned that replacing it with MAP or nurse-only administration would raise costs, worsen workforce shortages, and could force closures or resident displacement. They asked the committee to support legislation preserving responsible persons’ authority to administer medications while improving training and oversight. Committee members asked questions about the history of the responsible person model, how medication administration works day to day, whether other states use similar systems, and whether data exist comparing medication error rates under MAP and the current model. The chairs said they were still reviewing building-code-related recommendations raised in the assisted living discussion and noted that some issues might be better addressed through a task force. The hearing concluded after testimony and questions, and the committee voted to adjourn.

Transcript Highlights:

• VERY SAD THAT I COULDN'T WAIVE IN SUPPORT TODAY BUT WE ARE WORKING WITH WONDERFUL SENATOR BRADLEY WHO CARES
• OVER 500,000 FLORIDIANS FROM SURGICAL SMOKE AND THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO DO OUR JOB AND CONTINUE TO CARE
• THE COLLABORATIVE PHARMACY PRACTICE AGREEMENT ALSO KNOWN AS THE CP PPA WAS PASSED INTO LAW IN 2020.
• WE NEED TO ENSURE THE EXPANSION OF ACCESS OF CARE IS DONE WITH THE PROPER SAFEGUARDS THAT ALSO ALLOWS
• FOR THE DELIVERY OF QUALITY CARE AMONG ALL FLORIDIANS.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We obviously know child care is a huge component under what the work needs to happen.
• Paid for child care support services in the past for many of our areas.
• What is the collaboration happening on the front end of these application processes?
• Collaborators, and I would like to see those universities included as well because we have to start collaborating
• There are 13 collaboratives, and then with numerous pathways from each one.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• of the Arkansas Health Care School Nursing.
• country to have home care provider training mandated.
• We looked at access and quality of care.
• And I think you hit it: we all need to collaborate.
• We've tried to collaborate with them in the past.

Keywords: 1204, all

Transcript Highlights:

• in foster care.
• <00:01:09.119> And out of home care uh in foster care.
• And out of home care uh in foster care.
• collaborative or mediation?" collaborative or mediation?"
• friends that went through collaboration. friends that went through collaboration.

Keywords: 00:00 - Call to Order/Roll Call 01:13 - Discussion of 26RS HB 109 26:47 - Roll Call Vote on 26RS HB 109 32:30 - Discussion of 26RS HB 190 36:15 - Roll Call Vote on 26RS HB 190 37:30 - Adjournment, 958, all

Summary: The House Families and Children Committee met in the 2026 regular session and heard House Bill 109, which would amend Kentucky divorce law to waive the current 60-day waiting period for couples with minor children when the parties have already completed mediation or collaborative family law and are ready to finalize their decree. The bill sponsor, Representative Deetsz, argued the measure would reward families who have already done the work to resolve custody, parenting time, and property issues outside of court, and said it would not affect traditional litigation cases. She also explained that delays can be especially burdensome when retirement-account division requires a QDRO after the decree. Committee members discussed how long collaborative cases typically take, with the sponsor estimating about six months on average and longer in complex cases, and noted that some judges already require parenting classes or allow reconciliation conferences in certain circuits. David Walls of the Family Foundation testified in opposition, saying the bill would make divorce easier for parents with children and move Kentucky in the wrong direction. He argued waiting periods can encourage reconciliation, protect marriage commitments, and reduce harms to children and public costs associated with family fragmentation. He urged lawmakers to preserve or even lengthen the waiting period rather than eliminate it, and framed the issue as protecting children and strengthening marriage. During questions, Representative Bojanowski strongly objected to Mr. Walls’ characterization of divorce, saying her own divorce was necessary for her children’s well-being and that the bill simply shortens the process after mediation. Representative Elliott asked about typical timelines in collaborative cases and noted that some courts require parental education. Representative Moser asked whether counseling is required; the sponsor said it is not, though reconciliation conferences may be requested at a judge’s discretion. The transcript ends after discussion of the bill and before any recorded vote or final committee action.

Transcript Highlights:

• Care School Nursing.
• care partners, let's say just supporting access and quality of care, working with our long-term care
• care?
• HCBS providers, making sure access is there, how do we support quality care and long-term care?
• We all need to collaborate. Yes, collaboration.

Summary: The Arkansas Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Advisory Council met to introduce members, adopt its rules and procedures, approve prior minutes, and authorize the co-chairs to approve special expenses. The main discussion focused on updating the Arkansas State Plan for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, with David Cook of the Alzheimer’s Association outlining major changes in prevalence, caregiving burden, diagnostics, and treatment since the prior plan. He noted rising disease and caregiver numbers in Arkansas, the expansion of amyloid PET access, the growing use of blood-based biomarkers, and the availability of FDA-approved treatments such as Leqembi and Kisunla, while emphasizing that access, insurance coverage, and provider education remain major barriers. Members and presenters also discussed the need to better reach rural primary care providers, who may not be aware of new diagnostics and therapies, and the bottlenecks caused by limited specialists and infusion capacity. There was concern about overreliance on blood tests without confirmatory evaluation, and several members stressed the importance of collaboration, public education, and promoting brain health through exercise and diet. The council also heard about existing programs such as the dementia services coordinator, the BOLD grant, caregiver respite grants, workforce training, and a pilot dementia resource center with UAMS Centers on Aging. The council approved a new four-part outline for the next state plan: advancing risk reduction and brain health/early detection, strengthening family caregiver support, improving access to diagnostics and treatment, and supporting access and quality of care, including workforce and crisis response. Members also agreed to consider future agenda items on new treatments, brain health and lifestyle prevention, workforce training, and possible legislative changes to the enabling statute. The meeting ended with discussion of scheduling the next meeting, tentatively set for August 12 in Hot Springs, and adjournment.

Transcript Highlights:

• caring for the adults in the building. caring for the adults in the building.
• <00:51:41.960> and lastly, I would say in the care and lastly, I would say in the care and
• time<01:09:34.040> management, So care and support, time management, So care and support,
• So when you talk about collaboration, I would just say it's beyond just collaboration as a nice thing
• So when you talk about collaboration, I would just say it's beyond just collaboration as a nice thing

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• MANDATING TASKFORCES AND LOCAL COLLABORATION AMONG MANY OTHER THINGS.
• FOR THE SYSTEM OF CARE.
• WE HAVE CITRUS FAMILY CARE NETWORK THAT HAS A CHANCE MODEL.
• IT TAKES THAT STRONG COLLABORATION TO MAKE SURE.
• THOSE UP TO AGE 26 THAT SPENT AT LEAST 60 DAYS IN CARE.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We're responsible for the oversight of a statewide system of care for the prevention, treatment, and
• As you can imagine, for the third largest state in the country, the behavioral health system of care
• is complex and large and significantly impacts the lives of hundreds of thousands... ...system of care
• We wanted to land the plane on time, but we also wanted to do a review and collaborate and trade.
• Treatment foster care works best when the model is clearly defined and consistently applied.

Summary: The subcommittee heard two Department of Children and Families implementation updates on measures passed in prior sessions. First, DCF reviewed House Bill 633, which increased oversight of behavioral health managing entities through biennial independent audits, standardized claims-based reporting, and new monthly outcome dashboards. The department said it had awarded the inaugural audit to Ernst & Young, found no significant waste, fraud, or abuse, but identified process risks involving financial controls, claims validation, data access, and system access controls. DCF also described its transition to standardized behavioral health coding and said the new public dashboard of 11 measures is posted on its website, though members asked for easier access and for hard copies of the audit report. Members asked about how the department distinguishes Medicaid-covered services from department-funded services, how duplicate payment risks are being addressed, and whether the new reporting and audit requirements would improve oversight without disrupting services. DCF said it is the payer of last resort for uninsured or underinsured individuals, that some overlap with Medicaid is expected because Medicaid does not cover all behavioral health services, and that new claims edits and cross-checks are being built into the system. The department also said it had not found significant negative feedback from providers and that the new requirements are intended to improve transparency and accountability. DCF then updated the committee on Senate Bill 7012, covering human trafficking data collection, domestic violence center certification, limited background-screening exemptions, expanded recruitment for child welfare staff, subcontractor liability protections, a four-year treatment foster care pilot, case management efficiency recommendations, and a statewide study of residential bed capacity for child victims of commercial sexual exploitation. The department said several items are already complete or underway, including limited exemptions in the screening clearinghouse, while others are in procurement or rulemaking. It identified Circuits 4 and 12 as the treatment foster care pilot sites and said the pilot will launch in January 2026. Members questioned recruitment metrics, pilot timing, and report deadlines; the department said final reports are expected by January and that some dates were flexible because of procurement and implementation timelines. The meeting ended after the presentations and questions, and the subcommittee adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• I think that we can all agree that New Mexicans care and we can all agree that New Mexicans care and
• These programs, again, invest in care.
• We want to work collaboratively.
• But not because I didn't care.
• CIS is going to take care of it." I'm sorry.

Transcript Highlights:

• We have a lot of talk about congregate care, the number of children who are placed in congregate care
• And care with complex needs, collaboration with law enforcement, relationships with the legal and judicial
• In DCS for children in foster care.
• So the next piece we really look at is reducing time in care and time... ...care.
• We have Casey Melsak with Collaborative Safety. Thank you. Casey Melsak with Collaborative Safety.

Keywords: 1182, all

Summary: The committee met to review Department of Child Safety reforms developed after oversight hearings on the deaths of Emily Pike, Zariah Dodd, and Rebecca Baptiste. Members described a stakeholder process involving tribes, DCS, law enforcement, county attorneys, schools, and advocates that produced several bills already moving through the Legislature or signed by the governor. Those measures include SB 1125 on tribal-DCS information sharing, a bill requiring schools to provide records to DCS in investigations, a duty-to-report bill requiring direct knowledge, a hotline bill allowing DCS to consider 90 days of prior reports and route repeat cases to more experienced staff, a bill allowing attorneys to share more safety information with judges, and a requirement for advanced forensic interviews within 72 hours in sexual abuse cases. The chair emphasized that reforms are needed across DCS, the courts, and attorneys, and that the San Carlos Tribe’s letter would be entered into the record. DCS Director Catherine Patak presented 2025 agency data, saying the hotline received nearly 160,000 calls and 43,000 cases were investigated, while the out-of-home care population stayed relatively steady at just over 7,000 children. She reported 3,000 reunifications, 1,300 adoptions, 800 guardianships, 1,100 young adults receiving transition services, 534 new foster homes licensed, a 50% reimbursement increase for older youth caregivers, a 40% drop in youth missing from care since September 2024, and a 30% reduction in fatalities of children in care since 2024. She also discussed the annual fatality review process, noting 123 alleged fatality or near-fatality reports in the review period, 52 with prior DCS involvement, and systemic themes such as support for teens with complex needs, collaboration with law enforcement and the courts, and better staff support. Patak answered questions about group-home notification rules, saying DCS is updating rules to remove “runaway” and “AWOL” and use “missing” consistently, while also considering a statute change for the timing of notifications. She said about 300 children in care are there because of behavioral issues after adoption, and members raised concerns about insufficient behavioral health services for adopted children and the need for better training and support in group homes. Senators also asked about placement practices for sexually abused children and whether staff gender matching is considered; Patak said she was not aware of a specific requirement and would look into it. The committee then heard from Malcolm Hightower of Casey Family Programs, who said Arizona is generally near the national average on child welfare measures, does better than average on kin placements, but has a higher-than-average share of children in congregate care and slightly lower permanency within two years. He noted Arizona’s safety outcomes are roughly in line with national rates and urged continued cross-branch collaboration and timely information sharing. A final presentation from KC Melsick of Collaborative Safety focused on the agency’s systemic critical incident review model. He argued that child welfare and other public systems should move away from blame-focused responses after tragedies and toward a “safety culture” that examines system factors, near misses, and decision-making. He said Arizona has used this approach since 2016, with reported improvements including reduced turnover, and that the model is similar to after-action reviews used in the military and root-cause analysis in healthcare. Members discussed applying the same approach more broadly across state agencies. The committee ended with expressions of appreciation for the bill sponsors, DCS staff, tribal partners, and ongoing work, and adjourned with plans to continue the reforms in the interim and next session.

Transcript Highlights:

• And there is a pathway to care.
• And there is a pathway to care. And there is a pathway to care.
• Help is available, healing is possible, and there is a pathway to care.
• Help is available, healing is possible, and there is a pathway to care.
• We'll be working with seven health care systems throughout the state.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Care School Nursing.
• in ALFs, and the Alzheimer's Special Care Units became the first state in the country to have home care
• care partners, let's say just supporting access and quality of care, working with our long-term care
• care?
• We all need to collaborate. Yes, collaboration.

Summary: The Arkansas Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Advisory Council met with legislative members and agency, advocacy, and provider representatives present. The council adopted its rules and procedures, approved the prior meeting minutes, and authorized the co-chairs to approve special expenses. Members then heard an extensive update on the state Alzheimer’s plan and current developments in diagnosis, treatment, research, caregiving, and workforce issues. David Cook of the Alzheimer’s Association described major changes since the first state plan, including the growth of blood-based biomarkers, broader access to amyloid PET scans, and the availability of disease-slowing treatments such as Leqembi and Kisunla. He emphasized that Arkansas still faces major barriers in rural areas, including limited provider awareness, insurance coverage concerns, shortages of specialists, and long wait times for memory care and infusion services. He also highlighted caregiver burden, the need for better education and care navigation, and new efforts such as a dementia resource center pilot with UAMS, respite grants, and workforce training. Members discussed the importance of public education on brain health, diet, exercise, and risk reduction, as well as the need to collaborate with chronic disease partners and improve outreach to primary care providers. The council approved four proposed focus areas for the next state plan: advancing risk reduction, brain health, early detection and diagnosis; strengthening family caregiver support; improving access to diagnostics and treatment; and supporting access and quality of care, including workforce training and crisis response. Members also discussed possible legislative or statutory changes to keep the council active and engaged, and they agreed to pursue a future meeting in August, tentatively August 12 in Hot Springs, with additional meetings under consideration for later in the month. The meeting adjourned after no further business.

Transcript Highlights:

• puts me in control of my healthc care puts me in control of my healthc care cost<00:09:08.600>
• <00:11:19.360> effort appreciate the collaborative effort appreciate the collaborative effort
• But we've worked hard to collaborate across all schemes. You notice you don't see the FOP here.
• But we've worked hard to collaborate across all schemes. You notice you don't see the FOP here.
• But we've worked hard to collaborate across all schemes. You notice you don't see the FOP here.

Keywords: Meeting Start: 00:11 Attendance Roll Call: 00:18 Senate Bill 10 (Sen. Mills): 01:47 Senate Bill 65 (Sen. West): 18:47 Senate Bill 104 (Sen. Madon): 25:41 Adjournment: 31:38, 958, all

Summary: The Senate Standing Committee on State and Local Government heard testimony on Senate Bill 10, which would revise CERS retiree health subsidies for members who began participating on or before July 1, 2003. Senator Mills said the bill was developed with employee and employer groups to improve retiree health benefits while protecting the system’s financial footing, using a shared-cost structure. Testimony from sheriffs, police chiefs, firefighters, and the League of Cities strongly supported the bill, emphasizing recruitment and retention, affordability of retiree health coverage, and limited taxpayer risk. Members echoed those points, and the committee approved SB 10 with a 9-0 favorable recommendation. The committee then took up Senate Bill 65, sponsored by Senator West, which would codify the Administrative Regulations Committee’s annual practice of placing certain deficient regulations into statute so they cannot take effect. West explained that the committee’s role is limited to finding regulations deficient or asking for deferral, and that SB 65 is the fifth version of this measure. He described the specific regulation at issue as a Medicaid Services rule that would have required behavioral health associates to hold a master’s degree; providers testified that it would reduce the workforce and harm behavioral health services statewide. West said the committee had deferred the matter eight times before deciding to side with providers. The bill received favorable expression and was reported out. Finally, the committee heard Senate Bill 104, sponsored by Senator Madon, concerning Kentucky Deferred Comp for state employees. The bill would establish a codified fiduciary standard, authorize fiduciary liability insurance, add self-correcting mechanisms to keep the plan in compliance with federal law, and allow self-directed brokerage accounts. Personnel Cabinet representatives said the changes would align the plan with other public pension plans, reduce risk, and offer participants a useful investment option with strong account growth among users. SB 104 also received favorable expression and was reported to the floor. The committee then adjourned.

Transcript Highlights:

• We have 24/7 medical care. We have mental health services.
• We know that we want to collaborate and take a look at consolidation.
• We just did an after-care incarceration ceremony and graduation two weeks ago.
• We work very collaboratively. We process crime scenes, we assess evidence.
• So there's a great collaboration.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The commission met to continue its review of the county sheriffs’ role in corrections, reentry, and public safety. After approving the prior meeting minutes, the sheriffs completed a lengthy presentation describing how their offices provide regional jail services, women’s programming, mental health and substance use treatment, reentry support, community partnerships, and auxiliary public safety functions such as BCI work, TRIAD, Meals on Wheels, and event support. They emphasized that services are tailored to local needs, that women’s facilities are designed to keep mothers close to family and support reunification, and that programming, housing, and job placement are central to reducing recidivism. They also discussed challenges including K2/synthetic drugs in facilities, gang classification and separation, and the difficulty justice-involved people face obtaining IDs and birth certificates, especially for people from Puerto Rico. Commission members generally praised the sheriffs’ work and asked for more detail on how regional women’s facilities operate, how community-provider cuts might affect reentry services, how no-cost phone/tablet communication is balanced against programming time, and what the most essential programs are if funding is reduced. The sheriffs said programming must come first, identified mental health, substance use treatment, domestic violence programming, and housing/job placement as critical, and explained that community organizations and the Registry of Motor Vehicles are key partners in reentry. They also described their approach to gang management through classification, separation, and information sharing, and noted that the Registry has become more flexible but Real ID requirements have made documentation barriers more significant. The commission chair stressed that the purpose of the study is collaboration and improving system performance, not an adversarial effort against the sheriffs or a decarceration debate. Members noted that future meetings would hear from probation in June and the Department of Correction in July, and that the commission would continue gathering information before deciding on next steps. The meeting ended with a motion to adjourn, which passed unanimously.