Transcript Highlights:

• Senate Bill 1204 allows for three days of paid bereavement leave for our educators and support personnel

Bills: SB1360, SB1204, SB1989, SB1189, SB1481

Keywords: mathematics, student assessment, dyscalculia, intervention services, educational funding, professional development, state department of education, school employees, teachers, support personnel, support employees, public schools, school districts, bereavement leave, paid leave, grief leave, family leave, miscarriage, pregnancy loss, maternity leave

Transcript Highlights:

• would include some form of cash, loan, guarantee, or other financial instrument or services that support
• Senate Bill 1204 provides Oklahoma teachers and school employees 3 days of bereavement leave following

Bills: SB169, SB1991, SB1992, SB1204, SB1339, SB182, SB1847, SB1360, SB1346

Keywords: longevity pay, state employees, Oklahoma government, salary increase, emergency declaration, capital planning, funding allocation, state budget, infrastructure, emergency measures, income tax credit, qualified project, economic development, infrastructure funding, small population areas, school employees, teachers, support personnel, support employees, public schools

Transcript Highlights:

• Members, thank you for your support of this bill.
• So, with that, I hope you'll support as much today. Thank you. That concludes debate.
• I don't think there'll be anybody in here that would not support that.
• I really just want a clarification on bereavement. Do those roll.
• I think supporting families and dads is important. As you know, you're a dad of six.

Bills: SB843, SB1733, SB1476, SB1237, SB1410, SB1894, SB1272, SB1204, SB1721, SB1725, SB1735, SB1337, SB1339, SB1461, SB1975

Keywords: school boards, educational governance, conflict of interest, employee relations, Oklahoma statutes, child abuse, reporting requirements, sexual misconduct, law enforcement, school personnel, confidentiality, student safety, land office, land exchange, investment, education funding, real estate management, Teachers' Bill of Rights, education, teachers' rights

Transcript Highlights:

• Please show your state and the bereaved families of Texas your support by voting this bill out of committee
• Cooling technology to support family-centered bereavement care is an option that may be desired by families
• Perinatal palliative care services do a lot of different things, not just bereavement support, which
• do a very similar bill for all perinatal palliative care, not just bereavement support.
• support.

Bills: HB18, HB742, HB754, HB1644, HB2187, HB1887, HB 1275, HB37, HB1503, HB1699, HB1700, HB2735, HB1741, HB1731, HB1675, HB18, HB37

Keywords: rural health, hospital funding, healthcare access, mental health services, financial stability, human trafficking, first responders, health care, training, reporting, protection, trafficking prevention, medical assistant training, health care facilities, hospital compliance, clinic compliance, anti-retaliation, whistleblower protection, employee reporting, good faith report

Transcript Highlights:

• Individualized home supports is a service that provides support to individuals.
• but a training and support service. but a training and support service.
• c> 3375 Our supports also filed 3375 Our supports also filed 3375 as<00:22:07.120> amended,
• and the more intensive supports. and the more intensive supports.
• really need 7 hours of support that day. really need 7 hours of support that day.

Bills: HF3526, HF3375, HF3469

Keywords: home care, licensing, fines, advisory council, grant program, client safety, healthcare regulation, HF3375, Minnesota disability waiver, waiver rate system, human services, individualized home supports, individualized home supports with training, individualized home supports with family training, positive support services, employment support services, employment development services, employment exploration services, billing limits, service authorization year

Transcript Highlights:

• , basic needs, and concrete support so that families can get what they need.
• So we're very supportive of moving in that direction. We're supportive of the bill.
• I'm here to testify today in support of Senate Bill 1782.
• So I don't—I support informed consent. I support full transparency and safety and efficacy.
• And with that, I urge the committee to not support SB 1887. Thank you.

Bills: HB18, HB37, HB 116, HB388, HB879, HB913, HB 1151, HB2216, HB2358, HB2809, SB577, SB1590, SB1782, SB1887, SB2744

Keywords: rural health, hospital funding, healthcare access, mental health services, financial stability, perinatal bereavement, healthcare, hospital training, bereavement support, maternal care, fetal demise, stillbirth, neonatal death, parent-child relationship, involuntary termination, family law, child welfare, child protection, HB 388, HB388

Summary: The committee first reopened testimony on House Bill 2216, which would strengthen child welfare requirements by expanding “active efforts” to help families avoid removal and support reunification, while also raising standards related to removals and terminations. Supporters from child welfare and family defense groups said the bill would better protect families and align Texas more closely with ICWA-style principles, but several warned it would require significant new funding, staffing, and community services such as mental health care, housing, child care, and substance use treatment. The committee then left HB 2216 pending. The committee next heard Senate Bill 1782, aimed at boarding and group homes. Senator Miles said the bill closes enforcement gaps left by prior law by requiring retention of background-check records and creating misdemeanor penalties for failing to conduct or keep them, or for knowingly hiring people with serious convictions. Harris County sheriff’s investigators testified in support, describing illegal boarding homes, operators who evade permits and background checks, and exploitation of vulnerable residents; the bill was left pending. The committee also took up Senate Bill 481 on emergency preparedness for nursing facilities and assisted living facilities, adopted a new committee substitute that softened some requirements and removed the fiscal note, and left the bill pending. The committee then heard House Bill 388, which would require the Texas Department of Insurance to create a single standardized coordination-of-benefits form for dual health plans to reduce errors and surprise bills; it was left pending. Senate Bill 1590 would move paternity registry searches for adoptions to an electronic process with a 10-day target, and House Bill 2809 would track child suicide attempts in managing conservatorship and require related reporting and parental notice; both were left pending. The committee also heard Senate Bill 1887, which would prohibit administering mRNA-containing products for immunization for 10 years, with exceptions for cancer and genetic disorders. Supporters argued the bill was needed for safety, informed consent, and medical freedom, while opponents from the medical, research, and public health communities said mRNA vaccines are well-studied, save lives, and that the bill would harm access, research, and Texas’s biotech economy. The bill remained under discussion as testimony concluded.

Transcript Highlights:

• To assist hospitals, the department may provide staff training, bereavement devices, maintenance support
• Medical staff must be trained in compassionate bereavement support so that no grieving parent is met
• Medical staff must be trained in compassionate bereavement support so that no grieving parent is met
• Medical staff must be trained in compassionate bereavement support so that no grieving parent is met
• TTAF supports House Bill 37's goal to make perinatal bereavement care, counseling, and devices available

Bills: HB18, HB37, HB 116, HB388, HB879, HB913, HB 1151, HB2216, HB2358, HB2809, SB577, SB1590, SB1782, SB1887, SB2744

Keywords: rural health, hospital funding, healthcare access, mental health services, financial stability, perinatal bereavement, healthcare, hospital training, bereavement support, maternal care, fetal demise, stillbirth, neonatal death, parent-child relationship, involuntary termination, family law, child welfare, child protection, HB 388, HB388

Summary: The Senate Committee on Health and Human Services met with a quorum and took up several House and Senate bills, with public testimony limited to two minutes per witness. The committee first heard HB 2358, a cleanup bill requested by HHSC that would repeal outdated training and conference requirements for long-term care facility surveyors and certain providers; there were no witnesses, and the bill was left pending. The committee then heard HB 18, the rural hospital stabilization bill, which would create financial assessment tools, a rural hospital finance office at HHSC, an academy for rural hospital officers, multiple grant programs, enhanced Medicaid reimbursement tied to average cost, OB/GYN add-on payments, expanded pediatric telehealth connectivity, and a rural pediatric mental health program. Senator Perry and witnesses from TORCH, a rural hospital, AARP Texas, and ARCHI strongly supported the bill as a way to stabilize rural hospitals, improve OB access, and address workforce and financial pressures. Committee members discussed rural hospital closures, low-volume quality metrics, system affiliation, and the need for predictable monthly reimbursement; the bill was left pending after testimony and questions. The committee next heard HB 37, which would create a perinatal bereavement care initiative for families experiencing stillbirth, neonatal death, or intrauterine fetal demise, including counseling, staff training, and access to cooling devices, with possible grants and a recognition program for hospitals. Senator Huffman explained the bill, and several witnesses testified in support, sharing personal stories about infant loss and the importance of time with the baby, trained staff, and cuddle cots or similar devices. A neonatologist also supported the bill while suggesting clarification that hospitals should not be penalized if state funding is unavailable and recommending use of regional advisory councils to help implement training. Public testimony was then closed and the bill left pending. The committee also heard HB 879, which would create a streamlined licensing pathway for veterans with medical or nursing experience to practice in Texas, and HB 913, which would add new state hospitals to statute and split the North Texas State Hospital into two separate hospitals with their own superintendents; both bills had no opposition testimony and were left pending. Later, the committee heard SB 2744, a heart disease screening bill that would update the 2009 Texas Heart Attack Prevention Act to require insurance coverage for coronary CT angiography with plaque analysis, including soft plaque detection, as a preventive screening tool. The author and invited witnesses argued the technology is more effective than calcium scoring alone, can identify patients before symptoms appear, and could save lives at a cost comparable to or lower than colonoscopy. An insurance industry witness opposed the bill, arguing the technology has not been recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force for universal screening and that the mandated coverage and payment level would raise costs; the bill was left pending after testimony. Finally, the committee heard HB 1151, a parental rights bill clarifying that refusing psychotropic medication or psychiatric treatment is not neglect unless the child is harmed. Supporters, including parent advocates and attorneys, said the bill would protect parents from CPS overreach and preserve medical decision-making authority, while one witness urged broader attention to physical causes of behavioral issues. Public testimony was closed and HB 1151 was left pending.

Transcript Highlights:

• Thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of House Bill 3284.
• Okay, thank you. ...support HB3515, and I'm testifying for myself.
• I'm in support of House Bill 3515.
• I appreciate you, and I'm in support of passing this bill.
• It clarifies the notice language for the child support review process. ...and that of the child support

Bills: HB168, HB 1044, HB1534, HB1914, HB2240, HB2530, HB3284, HB3395, HB3515, HB3783, HB4034, HB4213, HB168

Keywords: marriage age, minors, family law, void marriage, rights of minors, Texas marriage law, marriage ceremony, authorized officiants, family code, judges, religious leaders, parent-child relationship, Department of Family and Protective Services, legal rights, notice requirements, HB 1914, Texas Family Code, Chapter 156, conservatorship, custody

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm here today to testify in strong support of HB 168 because our current law unfortunately has some
• work on the advocacy team at Unchained At Last, the only organization in the United States that supports
• Thank you for the opportunity. to testify in support of HB 168, this crucial bill to end child marriage
• I am here to testify today. in support of House Bill 168.
• They deserve loving parents, supportive communities, access to education, and to form healthy families

Bills: HB168, HB 1044, HB1534, HB1914, HB2240, HB2530, HB3284, HB3395, HB3515, HB3783, HB4034, HB4213, HB168

Keywords: marriage age, minors, family law, void marriage, rights of minors, Texas marriage law, marriage ceremony, authorized officiants, family code, judges, religious leaders, parent-child relationship, Department of Family and Protective Services, legal rights, notice requirements, HB 1914, Texas Family Code, Chapter 156, conservatorship, custody

Transcript Highlights:

• Southern Nazarene University, where we have the best administration in the country and the greatest support

Bills: HJR1032, SB1314, SB1257, SB1326, SB1365, SB1932, SB169, SB1991, SB1992, SB1204, SB1339, SB182, SB1847, SB1360, SB1346

Keywords: HJR1032, House Joint Resolution 1032, Service Oklahoma, administrative rules, rule repeal, joint resolution, Oklahoma Administrative Code, OAC 670:15-1-10, OAC 670:15-1-14, agency regulation, legislative oversight, Secretary of State, Oklahoma Register, rulemaking, permanent rules, administrative code, groundwater, indemnity fund, well drilling, pollution prevention

Transcript Highlights:

• program, the Consumer Directed Community Supports program, and the Consumer Support Grant.
• this bill and so thank you for support this bill and so thank you for supporting<00:10:22.240> our
• They do more than just support the person; they support entire family units, and they support our future
• They do more than just support the person; they support entire family units, and they support our future
• integration support integration support positive<01:46:53.719> supports<01:46:54.040>

Bills: HF2367, HF2319, HF2523, HF1742, HF671, HF2331, HF2722, HF2406, HF1674

Keywords: HF2367, Community First Services and Supports, CFSS, personal care assistance, PCA, consumer-directed community supports, CDCS, home and community-based services, HCBS, direct support professionals, direct care workers, caregivers, support workers, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa, collective bargaining agreement, retention stipend, health care cost stipend, training stipend, orientation program, retirement trust

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, and with that we support the bill. My understanding is there's about 187 million.
• Uh, we have strong support in, in, in Travis County for environmental stuff and. I can't.
• We specialize in end to end wind farm decommissioning support.
• OK, well, I'm hopeful that there's support for this.
• Philip Martin of the Environmental Defense Fund, uh, supportive of this bill.

Bills: HB205

Keywords: disaster recovery, economic development, grants, loans, infrastructure support

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:47:48.880> personnel the current student support personnel the current student support
• support person, student support<00:53:14.640> personnel.
• urge your support for House File 4893. urge your support for House File 4893.
• I support it. I think it's a good bill. I support it.
• > student<01:37:12.239> support agency will support this student support agency will support

Bills: HF4893

Keywords: education finance, student support, aid allowances, appropriation, school funding

Bills: SB 629, SB 1015, SB 2501, SB 2933

Keywords: child support, interest accrual, family law, delinquency, financial judgment

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, we are here today to ask for your support for this resolution.
• I respectfully urge your support.
• I humbly ask you to support HCR 6. Thank you for being here. Thank you.
• It supports local jobs.
• I'm here to testify in support of House Bill 4230.

Bills: HCR6

Keywords: Meals on Wheels, senior services, nutrition, community support, volunteerism

Transcript Highlights:

• For more than three years, UCOM has been the backbone of the international effort to support Ukraine.
• They do continue to depend on our support.
• K, especially one with a dual-use capability that could fill the close air support gap.
• for Russia's war, maybe other things beyond moral support.
• Even in Sudan, what's going on with the rapid support forces in Burkina Faso.

Keywords: committee meeting, legislation, public testimony, SB4, HB2214, bipartisan support

Summary: The committee convened to discuss various bills and hear testimonies related to legislative matters, including public concerns and implications surrounding the proposed legislation. Notably, the members engaged in a vigorous debate over SB4, where several representatives shared differing viewpoints on its impact on local communities and the environment. Public testimonies were heard, with advocates arguing for the bill's potential benefits, while opponents raised significant concerns regarding the fiscal implications and land use. Following these discussions, the committee moved to vote on HB2214, which passed without issue, illustrating the bipartisan support for certain initiatives tied to public welfare.

Bills: HB462, HB8, HB8

Keywords: emergency medical services, military training, licensure, public health, veterans, tobacco regulation, vaping, sales restrictions, youth protection, tobacco compliance, education programs, electronic nicotine delivery systems, campus chaplain, chaplain, school chaplain, volunteer, public K-12 schools, public schools, public charter schools, education policy

Bills: SB 2, SB 5, SB 10

Keywords: disaster relief, flood preparedness, emergency funding, local government support, meteorological forecasting

Bills: SB2, SB5, SB10

Keywords: disaster relief, flood preparedness, emergency funding, local government support, meteorological forecasting

Bills: SB2, SB5

Keywords: disaster relief, flood preparedness, emergency funding, local government support, meteorological forecasting