Video & Transcript : 'railroad grade separation' :
Page 98 of 500
CA
Transcript Highlights:
- We try to separate what’s a bargaining, contracting, or employee-employment issue versus what are real
- It's just kind of low-grade depression is okay. That's what it feels like.
- you're not suicidal anymore, so we're going to call that a win and just keep maintaining this low-grade
- My very good friend, actually, Jessica Duran, who I've known since seventh grade, has been on those picket
- My very good friend, actually, Jessica Duran, who I've known since seventh grade, has been on those picket
Committee:
House Health
Summary:
The Assembly Health Committee held an informational hearing on Kaiser Permanente’s behavioral health care system, focusing on Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) enforcement actions, Kaiser’s corrective action work plan, and member access to timely behavioral health services. DMHC officials reviewed a long history of deficiencies and enforcement, including a 2012 survey and fine, a 2017 settlement, a 2022 non-routine survey that found multiple deficiencies in Northern and Southern California, and a 2023 settlement that included a $50 million penalty and $150 million in required community investments over five years. Officials said Kaiser’s corrective action work plan was initially too vague, was revised after extensive meetings, and will be monitored through quarterly reports, ongoing surveys, complaint review, and possible additional enforcement if Kaiser fails to comply.
Committee members pressed DMHC on what “timely access” means, how continuity of care should work in behavioral health, and how the department evaluates whether treatment is clinically appropriate. DMHC explained that appointments generally should be available within about two weeks for initial care, within days for urgent needs, and within 10 days for follow-up, with out-of-network care required when in-network access is unavailable. Officials also said the department looks at complaints, medical records, surveys, and annual timely-access reporting, and that the help center can assist enrollees in real time. Members raised concerns that the corrective action plan lacked specific dates and metrics, and DMHC said the quarterly reporting process is intended to provide more detail and flexibility as implementation continues.
In the second panel, a Kaiser enrollee described delayed and inadequate care for his daughter after a suicide attempt, including long waits for follow-up, intensive outpatient treatment, and dialectical behavior therapy. A Kennedy Forum representative argued that stronger transparency, standardized reporting, and more aggressive corrective enforcement are needed, including out-of-network reimbursement when networks are inadequate. A Kaiser therapist and NUHW member testified that short appointment times, heavy caseloads, inappropriate referrals, and pressure to use group therapy or webinars undermine clinical care, while NUHW’s president said Kaiser systematically undervalues behavioral health compared with medical-surgical care, especially in Southern California, and urged legislative action. Several lawmakers echoed concerns about Kaiser’s absence from the hearing and asked about workforce shortages, regional disparities, and whether the state’s remedies are arriving too slowly to protect patients in real time.
AZ
Transcript Highlights:
- So they did have performance separately. So they did both.
- And I know myself going through a program like that, I was able to start teaching first grade, still
- a bit intimidated—” “Through a program like that, I was able to start teaching first grade, still a bit
- those girls who did sign a petition to the Peoria School Board to make sure that the bathrooms were separate
- soon as this policy goes into effect, someone they've been sharing a bathroom with for a couple of grades
Committee:
House House Education Committee of Reference
Summary:
The Committee on Education first heard a presentation from Dr. Victoria Dyson Homer on the Arizona Teacher Residency Program. She argued that Arizona faces a teacher retention and certification crisis, with high attrition and many uncertified or underprepared teachers, and said research shows practice-based residencies improve retention, teacher confidence, and student outcomes. She described the Arizona Teacher Residency as a year-long, cohort-based, district-partnered program with mentoring, coursework, and induction support, and said its early data show very high retention and positive student and teacher feedback. Committee members asked about how the program differs from traditional student teaching, salary schedules, and whether residency graduates outperform traditional preparation pathways; the presentation was generally well received.
The committee then took up SCR 1006, a ballot referral dealing with school restroom and locker room accommodations and pronoun/name use for students. The sponsor framed it as a parental rights and student safety measure, while opponents from education, legal, and advocacy backgrounds argued it was discriminatory, unnecessary, and harmful to transgender and non-binary students. After public testimony and member debate, the committee approved SCR 1006 on a 7-5 vote. Members then considered SB 1126, which would require schools to provide certain student records and information to Department of Child Safety caseworkers and prohibit schools from blocking staff from speaking with DCS during abuse or neglect investigations. DCS testified neutral, saying the bill would help clarify information sharing and support child safety; the committee passed the bill 10-0 with two members present.
Finally, the committee heard SB 1210, which would require certain out-of-state private postsecondary institutions offering fully online programs to Arizona residents to register with the state board unless they participate in a reciprocity agreement, and to comply with student tuition recovery fund requirements if they collect prepaid tuition. Supporters said the bill closes a regulatory loophole and protects students and the state’s oversight of online providers. The committee approved SB 1210 on an 11-1 vote. The meeting then adjourned.
AZ
Transcript Highlights:
- So they did have performance separately. So they did both.
- And I know myself going through a program like that, I was able to start teaching first grade, still
- Through a program like that, I was able to start teaching first grade, still a bit intimidated, of course
- those girls who did sign a petition to the Peoria School Board to make sure that the bathrooms were separate
- soon as this policy goes into effect, someone they've been sharing a bathroom with for a couple of grades
Committees:
House Education , House House Education Committee of Reference
WA
Washington 2025-2026 Regular Session
Senate Transportation Jan 13th, 2026
Transcript Highlights:
- Funding ought to be opened up to all three of the rail programs that are recognized by the Federal Railroad
Summary:
The Senate Transportation Committee met on January 13, 2026, for a work session on Governor Ferguson’s proposed 2026 supplemental transportation budget and a public hearing on Senate Bill 6005, which makes supplemental transportation appropriations for the 2025–27 biennium. Committee staff reviewed the transportation budget outlook, noting that the 2025 session had balanced the transportation budget over four years with significant new revenues, but that recent fuel-tax and Climate Commitment Act forecasts had softened the long-term outlook. Staff and the governor’s budget team said the proposal still leaves the budget in positive shape while addressing major needs such as preservation, ferry replacement, maintenance, and the state self-insurance account.
The governor’s office described a $16.8 billion transportation budget proposal centered on preservation and maintenance, including $3.1 billion in bonding for eligible preservation projects, $1.1 billion for three new ferries, additional ferry preservation funding, pavement and bridge work, maintenance funding, County Road Administration Board startup money, State Patrol communications upgrades, DOL service access improvements, dredging for the Lower Columbia River, and restored regional mobility grant funding. Committee members asked about ferry capacity, DOL mobile offices, self-insurance costs, and whether additional preservation money could be used in 2026. Testifiers from cities, counties, labor, ports, construction, business, and environmental groups generally supported the emphasis on preservation, ferry reliability, local road funding, and freight projects, while some urged broader transit and rail investment and one witness criticized the budget’s spending approach.
During public testimony on SB 6005, speakers from Bainbridge Island and ferry communities supported ferry investments and reliability improvements; local government and labor representatives backed preservation funding and better working conditions for transportation workers; business and construction groups endorsed maintenance, paving, bridge repair, and the Lower Columbia dredging item; and port and environmental advocates supported freight, port electrification, and rail funding. One witness raised concerns about the cost and long-term implications of hybrid-electric ferry maintenance, and another urged restraint in spending. The hearing ended after testimony, with the chair noting the sign-in tally and adjourning the committee without a vote on the bill.
WY
Wyoming 2026 Regular Session
Select Committee on School Finance Recalibration, January 22, 2026 - AM
Select Committee on School Finance Recalibration
Transcript Highlights:
- A one-unit school has one first-grade class, one second-grade class, one third-grade class.
- grade class one third grade class second grade class one third grade class two-unit<00:12:53.040><c>
- . grade. grade.
- ><c> to1</c><01:02:46.480><c> as</c> fourth grade to 12th grade at 25 to1 as fourth grade to 12th grade
- and fifth grade.
MN
Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session
Minnesota House bill aims to align transit, road projects and housing development 4/14/26
Minnesota House Floor Meeting
Transcript Highlights:
- Commissioner Marion Green, Hennepin County Commissioner for District 3 and chair of the Regional Railroad
- Green, and I'm the Hennepin County Commissioner for District 3, and I'm the chair of the Regional Railroad
FL
Transcript Highlights:
- So separate... Davis. Thank you, Madam President.
- So separate from the cost, so now I've identified it.
- Senator Davis, I think we're talking about separate things.
- to continue to be properly funded now that we're separating those two programs out?
- to continue to be properly funded now that we're separating those two programs out.
Summary:
The Senate opened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, doctor and guest introductions, and then took up Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 168, the Tristan Murphy Act, on mental health. Senator Bradley described the bill as a major criminal justice and behavioral health reform measure that would expand pretrial mental health diversion, strengthen treatment-based probation conditions, broaden grant uses for mental health and substance abuse programs, add Hillsborough County to a forensic hospital diversion pilot, require certain DOC mental health evaluations, and create a Florida Behavioral Health Data Repository. Senators from both parties spoke in strong support, emphasizing treatment over incarceration, public safety, data collection, and the Murphy family’s role in advancing the bill. The Senate passed the bill 37-0 and then approved 37 co-sponsors.
The chamber then received the Senate’s 2025-26 General Appropriations Bill, SB 2500, with Chair Hooper outlining a $117.4 billion budget that he said reduces spending, preserves reserves, and includes major investments in water quality, transportation, education infrastructure, and reporting requirements. Committee chairs summarized their portions: K-12 funding at $34.7 billion with increases for FEFP, scholarships, VPK, school hardening, and school safety; higher education at $11.5 billion with workforce, nursing, reading, autism, and student aid investments; health and human services with a $1.8 billion increase for Medicaid, mental health, opioid response, disability services, and veterans programs; criminal and civil justice at $7.6 billion for corrections, juvenile justice, law enforcement, courts, and judgeships; transportation/tourism/economic development at about $18 billion including roads, housing, Visit Florida, and cultural grants; and agriculture/environment/general government with major Everglades, water quality, citrus, food bank, and agency IT funding.
Members then questioned several budget items, especially education funding formulas, the shift of scholarship dollars below the line, the impact on public school districts, AP/IB and other accelerated program funding, the APD wait list, opioid settlement spending, arts grants, and the My Safe Florida Home and condo pilot programs. Chairs generally said scholarship and accelerated-program dollars were being restructured for transparency and flexibility rather than cut, that school districts would still receive funding based on enrollment, and that APD and other human services issues would continue to be worked out in conference. The budget discussion concluded with remarks praising staff and noting a 4% across-the-board pay raise for state employees and targeted increases for law enforcement and firefighters, followed by a recognition for FAMU Day at the Capitol.
MN
Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session
Minnesota House passes the omnibus education policy bill, SF1740 5/16/25
Minnesota House Floor Meeting
Transcript Highlights:
- It's right through third grade students.
- They have one class per grade.
- They couldn't take that little grade.
- And we that, 50% read at grade level.
- The parents tell me that. grade. when kids have seen an entire grade. when kids have seen an entire room
FL
Florida 2026 5th Special Session
Education Pre-K - 12 Nov 18th, 2025
Transcript Highlights:
- So here I want to show you, these are our achievement of grades.
- And then the next one is the summary by grade level and classroom.
- You know, we have to have the 41% above our subgroups for our school grade.
- You know, we have to have the 41% above our subgroups for our school grade.
- Grade levels in elementary have their competitions built around it.
Summary:
The committee on Pre-K through 12 Education met to discuss chronic absenteeism, district attendance interventions, and related truancy procedures. Chair Simon reviewed Florida’s attendance laws and escalation process, including school-based interventions, child study team meetings, referrals to the Department of Juvenile Justice, truancy petitions, and possible sanctions for parents and driving privileges. The committee heard first from University of Florida professor Dr. Chris Curran, who presented state and national absenteeism data showing chronic absenteeism has risen sharply since the pandemic, with Florida at about 31.4% in 2023-24. He emphasized that absenteeism has multiple causes, including transportation, mental health, housing instability, safety concerns, and family barriers, and said effective responses include early warning systems, multi-tiered supports, mentoring, and community partnerships rather than relying only on punitive measures.
Members questioned Dr. Curran about whether absenteeism is a behavior or barrier issue, whether exclusionary discipline is counted, the need for a uniform definition across districts, and whether more punitive truancy enforcement is effective. He said the issue is usually a mix of barriers and choices, that excused and unexcused absences both matter for chronic absenteeism data, and that root-cause analysis and supportive interventions are generally more productive than punishment alone, though consequences can still play a role.
The committee then heard from Collier County Superintendent Leslie Ricciardelli and district staff, who described a highly structured attendance system built around attendance specialists, social workers, mental health staff, home visits, attendance contracts, multilingual outreach, and frequent parent notifications. They said Collier’s chronic absenteeism rate was about 9% in 2023-24 and credited their success to early contact, community partnerships, and a strong district culture around attendance. Volusia County Schools Executive Director Mike McAuliffe described a newer districtwide attendance initiative that uses automated letters, same-day notifications, data dashboards, MTSS tiers, incentives, and community supports such as bikes, washers and dryers, and faith-based partnerships. He reported Volusia reduced chronic absenteeism from 34% in 2023-24 to a projected 29% and said the district is now seeing about 20% in the first quarter of the current year. No formal votes were taken.
NM
New Mexico 2026 Regular Session
House - Commerce and Economic Development Feb 11th, 2026 at 05:14 pm
House Commerce & Economic Development Committee
Transcript Highlights:
- It outlines a strategy to curb the proliferation of illegal firearms and military-grade weapons, such
- It outlines a strategy to curb the proliferation of illegal firearms and military-grade weapons, such
- Is each location figured separately?
- Is each location figured separately?
- ones, because they do two separate things, and I need to find that in my bill?
Keywords:
State Fairgrounds District, fairgrounds bonds, public financing, bond authorization, gross receipts tax, gaming tax, tax-backed bonds, infrastructure funding, Albuquerque fairgrounds, State Fair Tid, economic development, municipal bonds, revenue pledge, capital projects, New Mexico finance, technology, innovation, advisory board, entrepreneurial support, stakeholder representation
NH
New Hampshire 2025 Regular Session
House Finance Division II (03/28/2025)
Transcript Highlights:
- We dealt with that in a separate amendment, so that's why it's not included here.
- Amendment</c><00:11:13.959><c> so</c><00:11:14.320><c> that's</c><00:11:14.519><c> why</c> in a separate
- Amendment so that's why in a separate Amendment so that's why it's<00:11:14.800><c> not</c><00:11:14.959
- concerned, is that we have a constitutional duty to fund the education of people through the 12th grade
- and that is not a place where I grade and that is not a place where I would<00:28:27.120><c> feel</c
Summary:
The committee first considered an amendment to add a new “Lakes” license plate to HB 2, with proceeds directed to the cyanobacteria fund for lake cleanup. Representative McGuire said the bill had already passed on consent and asked that it be included in HB 2; members discussed that it had also gone to the Senate. The motion to adopt the amendment failed on a 7-8 vote.
The committee then took up an amendment imposing a 5% administrative fee on certain dedicated funds, with several exemptions for funds that could not legally or appropriately be charged, such as those involving federal money or bequests. Supporters said it would make the treatment of dedicated funds more consistent and raise roughly $31 million over the biennium for the general fund, while opponents questioned the number of carve-outs and who currently pays the administrative costs. The amendment failed on a 4-5 vote.
Next, the committee reconsidered and then adopted an amendment changing the distribution of business profits tax and business enterprise tax revenue, reducing the share going to the Education Trust Fund from 41% to 30% and increasing the General Fund share. Supporters argued the Senate had overfunded the Education Trust Fund and that the change would help balance the budget without changing education spending levels; opponents said they could not support taking money from the Education Trust Fund. The amendment passed 5-3. The committee also adopted, by the same 5-3 margin, an amendment incorporating HB 741 language on open enrollment and student attendance in public schools, with supporters calling it House policy and opponents noting it had been a close, partly partisan vote in the House.
Finally, the committee considered a change to the University System of New Hampshire budget that would reduce general fund appropriations by $40 million per year, offset in part by $15 million in previously approved unique dollars for a net reduction of $25 million per year. Supporters said the cut was necessary to balance the budget and that other options had been exhausted; opponents called it harmful to the university system and argued the committee should instead look to other areas, including education freedom accounts, for savings. The discussion continued, but the transcript excerpt ends before a final vote on the UNH item.
HI
Transcript Highlights:
- I think also within our schools we do have, as grade-level teams and such, or pathways and CTE groups
- Because when you have a separate program, you have the tendency to lose the funding.
- Because when you have a separate program, you have the tendency to lose the funding.
- When you have a separate program, you have the tendency to lose the funding.
- There's a separate website for that too.
Committee:
Senate Education
LA
Louisiana 2026 Regular Session
Transportation, Highways and Public Works Apr 7th, 2026
Transportation, Highways & Public Works
Transcript Highlights:
- Not necessarily a separate office, right?
- We've had some questions earlier today on a separate piece of legislation.
- My mission is driven by two separate motivations.
- We know hearing impaired separately there. Autism is identified. Right.
- We know hearing impaired separately there.
Bills:
HB506 , HB590 , HB647 , HB685 , HB692 , HB839 , HB860 , HB873 , HB887 , HB965 , HB972 , HB982 , HB1072 , HB1157
Summary:
The committee first heard House Bill 1157, which would create a Louisiana State Infrastructure Bank to provide a new funding mechanism for transportation projects, including roads, bridges, rail, ports, and airports. The chairman and DOTD Secretary Glenn LaDoux said the bank would help leverage state, federal, local, and private dollars, modelled in part on programs in Florida and other states, and would be used for gap funding and faster project delivery. Members asked extensive questions about board makeup, oversight, seed funding, application priorities, and how the program would differ from capital outlay and other existing funding tools. Support testimony came from Greater New Orleans, Inc. and other groups, and the bill was reported favorably without objection.
The committee then approved several mostly technical or local bills, including HB 860 allowing fillable electronic public bid forms; HB 972 naming a portion of Highway 93 in Lafayette Parish the Desert Shield Desert Storm Memorial Highway; HB 965 naming a portion of Highway 163 for Sergeant William Billy Earl Collins Jr.; HB 692 allowing local governments to use group purchasing organizations, as amended; HB 685 allowing cooperative procurement for public motor vehicles and rolling stock under FAST Act procedures, which passed after a roll call vote with one no vote; HB 982 designating portions of highways in Morehouse Parish, as amended; HB 506 creating specialty license plates, as amended; HB 839 lowering the CMAR threshold for hospital service districts from $2 million to $1 million via substitute bill; HB 647 revising the waterway assistance program and application timelines via substitute bill; and HB 887 revising construction management-at-risk procedures, as amended. Most of these measures were reported favorably or favorably as amended, with little or no opposition.
The committee also received an update on the Office of Louisiana Highway Construction from Representative Chesson, who said the office will assume control of about 4,000 miles of roadway and 2,000 bridges and has been moving projects quickly using internal procurement procedures. HB 1072, which reforms the office’s powers and emergency authority, was amended to narrow emergency provisions and clarify funding and reporting language, then reported favorably as amended. The final major item was HB 873, which would fund pursuit-intervention technology and training for law enforcement through a $2 fee on driver’s licenses; the bill was presented alongside emotional testimony from the widow and daughter of Sergeant Grant Candies and from a St. John the Baptist Parish captain, who argued the fee would help agencies buy safer equipment and obtain grant support. The transcript ends during questioning on HB 873, before any final committee action on that bill is shown.
ID
Transcript Highlights:
- That bureau chief position would be at a pay grade comparable to the deputy administrator position that
- The bureau chief position would be at a pay grade comparable to the deputy administrator position that
- So one way to help kind of create that separation and ensure, really, when it comes down to it, that
- So one way to help kind of create that separation and ensure really when it, you know, comes down to
Committee:
House Agricultural Affairs
WA
Washington 2025-2026 Regular Session
Senate Transportation Jan 19th, 2026 at 04:00 pm
Transportation
Transcript Highlights:
- It separately directs WSDOT to notify all utility providers of planned projects under the Dig Once rules
- I looked at that and so, again, the difference was how do we separate us that work here versus the neighbors
- cannot exceed 75% of an asset's useful life, and a requirement that the debt must receive investment-grade
- The debt must receive investment-grade ratings from multiple firms.
Committee:
Senate Transportation
Keywords:
electric vehicles, charging fees, state facilities, sustainability, infrastructure, regional transit authority, RTA, transit bonds, general obligation bonds, revenue bonds, bond maturity, debt limit, 25-year cap, regional mobility grant program, public transit financing, transportation funding, Washington RCW, bond issuance, municipal finance, infrastructure finance
FL
Florida 2026 Regular Session
Appropriations Committee on Higher Education Feb 25th, 2026
Appropriations Committee on Higher Education
Transcript Highlights:
- Is there any of these names that you would like pulled from the list and voted on separately?
- We have one of our reappointments that we were asked to interview separately, separate from the block
- We don't have grades. It's an honors college. A lot of close faculty-student work.
- We don't have grades. It's an honors college. A lot of close faculty student work.
- We are going to vote on separately. We will take them in order that we have heard them.
WA
Washington 2025-2026 Regular Session
Senate Floor Session Feb 27th, 2026 at 09:00 am
Washington Senate Floor Meeting
Transcript Highlights:
- I took lessons when I was a third grader from my second grade teacher, Mrs.
- And then you graduated from the first grade book to the second grade book to the third grade book.
- students from Genesee Elementary School, Of outstanding fourth-grade students from Genesee Elementary
- In a 38-day period, we had three dead kids in the fire department, all separate instances.
- In a 38-day period, we had three dead kids in the fire department, all separate instances.
Bills:
SB6061 , SB6234 , SB6170 , SB6176 , SB6182 , SB6335 , SB5647 , SB6047 , HB2367 , HB2606 , SB5998 , SB6005 , SB6003 , SB6129 , SB6225 , SB6228 , SB6231
Summary:
The Senate met on February 23, 2026, opened with the usual roll call, pledge, prayer, and approval of the previous journal. Members then adopted Senate Resolution 8698 recognizing piano teachers, with several senators sharing personal remarks about their own teachers and the role of music education in families and communities. Guests from the Washington State Music Teachers Association and the National Guild of Piano Teachers were recognized in the gallery.
The chamber then moved into budget debate, considering a series of amendments to the operating budget. Several proposals focused on housing costs, local planning, utility rates, and state spending restraint. Amendment 0772, which would have created a housing-related task force and increased funding, was rejected after debate over housing affordability and regulatory costs. Amendment 0785, restoring growth management planning funding for local governments, was also rejected. Amendment 0791, directing the Department of Commerce to study the effects of climate and clean energy laws on utility costs, and Amendment 0769, related to grid capacity and clean energy investments, were both adopted.
Other amendments drew sharper partisan debate. Amendment 0798, which would have reduced the Supreme Court from nine justices to five and redirected savings to public defense, failed. Amendments 0794 and 0795, seeking funding for ballot measure costs tied to initiatives, also failed. Amendment 0799, intended to redirect Pacific Tower lease savings to developmental disability services, was rejected after discussion of the building’s current public uses. Amendment 0773, capping state spending growth and tying it to median wage growth, failed on a roll call vote, while Amendment 0777, addressing concurrent use of paid family and medical leave and sick leave by state employees, also failed after extended debate. Later, Amendment 0776 on tort liability reporting was adopted, as were Amendment 0758 creating a DSHS work group on community-based services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and Amendment 0786 was introduced to reduce cash and food assistance work-related funding, with debate beginning before the transcript ends.
MO
Missouri 2026 Regular Session
Special Committee on Rural Issues Jan 14th, 2026
Special Committee on Rural Issues
Transcript Highlights:
- through the instructional thing of it, it doesn't have to be necessarily an ag teacher, but one of the grade
- Or maybe they send some of their current FFA kids and help a second-, third-, fourth-grade teacher.
- Every pre-kindergarten through fourth grade class visits the garden monthly for hands-on instruction.
- Columbia Public Schools, and since 2017, we've had a really intensive program with some of the third-grade
- , when you get them working with... ...we've had a really intensive program with some of the third-grade
Committee:
House Special Committee on Rural Issues
FL
Florida 2026 Regular Session
Governmental Oversight and Accountability Mar 18th, 2025
Governmental Oversight and Accountability
Transcript Highlights:
- agency funds, funding, policies, procedures, trainings, programs, and activities, as well as the grading
- Making admissions and grading even tougher doesn't make better doctors. It makes fewer of them.
- in favor of a pass-fail format because grade disadvantaged certain demographics.
- in favor of a pass-fail format because grade disadvantaged certain demographics.
- They don't run as a separate... Some states, the lieutenant governor is its own job.
Summary:
The committee first confirmed Heather L. Turnbull to the Florida Commission on Community Service, with the motion adopted and the confirmation recommended favorably. Members then took up SPB 7022, which sets Florida Retirement System employer contribution rates beginning July 1, 2025, updates rates to address unfunded actuarial liability, and allows certain elected officers to elect a DROP accumulation; a technical title amendment was adopted, the bill was submitted as a committee bill, and it was reported favorably as a committee bill.
The committee then heard extensive debate and public testimony on SB 1710, which would restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion-related policies, trainings, and activities in state agencies, state-funded contractors and grantees, and medical institutions of higher education. Sponsor Senator DiCeglie said the bill is intended to prevent state agencies and contractors from using state funds for DEI programs and to limit state agencies from adopting DEI-related official positions; he also said the medical-school portion would likely be amended out later. Senator Polsky and others questioned the bill’s breadth and how it would affect health-related grants, public universities, historically Black institutions, recruitment, and contractor training. Public testimony was overwhelmingly opposed, with speakers arguing the bill would harm health care, education, access, and inclusion; a few supporters said DEI is ideological, can undermine merit, and should not be used by state agencies or publicly funded institutions.
After debate, Senator Polsky argued the bill was confusing, overbroad, and harmful to serving diverse communities, while Senator Arrington said it was an overreach into private business and could have significant fiscal impacts. Chair Fine closed by saying DEI is political ideology and that the bill is meant to ensure government focuses on talent rather than identity. SB 1710 was then reported favorably on a roll call vote, with Senator Arrington voting no and the remaining members voting yes. The committee then began SB 1678, relating to entities that boycott Israel, and heard the sponsor’s explanation of a delete-all amendment that would expand and clarify state restrictions on dealings with entities engaged in boycotts of Israel, including certain nonprofits, foreign educational institutions, and grants; the amendment was adopted, and the sponsor and a witness began answering questions when the transcript cuts off.
NH
New Hampshire 2025 Regular Session
House Education Policy and Administration (03/03/2025)
Transcript Highlights:
- I attended the Pembroke public school system through grade 8.
- </c> called solemn reverence the separation called solemn reverence the separation of<01:04:42.240><c
- </c> your recent conversation of separation your recent conversation of separation of<01:05:31.000><c
- </c><02:33:47.279><c> six</c> ad because if you're in a a grade six ad because if you're in a a grade
- </c> things because this is separating things because this is separating emergent<05:39:14.558><c> from
Summary:
The Education Policy Committee opened a hearing on HB 748, which would establish a local education freedom account (EFA) program. The prime sponsor, Rep. Kevin Verville, described the bill as enabling legislation that would let local voters decide whether to create a local EFA program by petition and ballot vote, with a 60% threshold to approve or repeal it. He argued that public education is about funding rather than a specific school building, said the proposal would expand parental choice, and cited Deerfield’s move from a single high school option to multiple tuitioned options as an example of local flexibility.
Verville said the local EFA would be funded at twice the state adequacy amount, with the district matching the state portion, while other aid categories such as free and reduced meals, English language learner, and special education aid would not be doubled. He said students using a local EFA would still count in average daily membership, that unspent EFA funds would revert to the district, and that the bill would prohibit double-dipping with other scholarship or EFA programs. He also said special education services would remain under district discretion and that local EFA participants would still take statewide assessments for accountability.
Committee members pressed him on several issues, especially special education, transportation, and fairness. Rep. Woodcock and Rep. Murray asked whether districts would still have to provide special education and transportation services if a student used a local EFA; Verville responded that special education would remain in the local district at district discretion, while transportation would generally become the family’s responsibility unless already required in an IEP. Rep. Cornell raised an equity concern about no income eligibility cap, asking whether higher-income families should receive the same public support; Verville replied that New Hampshire does not means-test public education and that the local EFA is a public funding mechanism, not a tuition subsidy that would cover full private-school costs. No vote or committee action was taken in the portion provided.