Transcript Highlights:

• The settlement of Trey's lawsuit required him and other victims to sign an NDA.
• The settlement of Trey's lawsuit required him and other victims to sign an NDA, which silenced victims
• This bill prohibits the use of nondisclosure agreements in civil settlement cases pertaining to a victim
• And part of that settlement has been that the defendant has told the victim, 'We don't want you to talk
• So what happens in these situations is parents will often sign a settlement agreement not realizing,

Bills: HB165, HB603, SB77, SB140, SB185

Keywords: HB165, lottery proceeds, Lottery Proceeds Fund, Veterans Service Grant Fund, constitutional amendment, veterans, military veterans, veterans' benefits, veterans services, family support, state lottery, education funding, Minimum Foundation Program, problem gambling, compulsive gaming, state treasurer, ballot proposition, constitutional referendum, lottery revenue, Louisiana resident veterans

Summary: The Civil Law Committee met on May 5, 2026, and first considered House Bill 165 by Representative Abear, a constitutional amendment to dedicate $500,000 annually from lottery proceeds to a Veterans Service Grant Fund. The committee adopted Amendment Set 4820, which removed “up to” from the ballot language, adopted the 6.8A report, and reported the bill with amendments. The committee then heard Senate Bill 185 by Senator Presley, which would make nondisclosure agreements in child sexual abuse civil settlements against public policy and unenforceable. Testimony from Elizabeth Phillips, on behalf of her brother Trey Carlock, and from survivor Gillian Edwards Coburn strongly supported the bill as a way to restore victims’ voices and prevent institutions from silencing abuse claims. Members asked about how NDAs work in civil cases and whether the bill would affect settlements or existing protections; the bill was reported favorably without objection. Next, the committee took up Senate Bill 77 by Senator Miller, a Law Institute measure on the effects of leases of movable property, aimed at protecting good-faith lessees in merchant leasing situations. After a brief explanation from the Louisiana State Law Institute and questions about how the rule would apply, the bill was reported favorably. The committee also approved Senate Bill 140 by Senator Miller, which allows multiple successions to be handled in the same proceeding when jurisdiction is proper, to reduce duplication and costs in estate cases; it was reported favorably. Finally, the committee considered House Bill 603 by Representative Wright, a constitutional amendment authorizing state investment in digital assets and precious metals. Members questioned whether the measure could include Bitcoin, how the investments would be monitored, and whether pensions could be affected. After adopting the 6.8A report, the committee voted 5-3 to report the bill favorably. The meeting then adjourned.

Bills: SB2198, SB2140, SB3055, SB3090, SB3091, SB3092, SB2761

Keywords: workforce development, craftspersons, skilled trades, artisan, craftsmanship, trade recognition, award program, DLIR, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Meilleur Ouvrier de France, vocational education, career pathways, cultural preservation, workforce excellence, apprenticeship, Hawaii trades, economic diversification, public nominations, governor awards, historically significant venue

Transcript Highlights:

• That one or two giant cases replaces many of the smaller settlements.

Bills: HB195, HB279, SB30, HB234, HB292, SB100, SB23, SB221, SB261, SB264

Keywords: medical malpractice, judgments, independent providers, insurance, personal assets, settlements, healthcare, healthcare privacy, electronic medical records, reproductive health, gender-affirming care, data protection, location tracking, confidentiality, SB30, induced abortion, abortion reporting, vital statistics, public health reporting, medical records

Transcript Highlights:

• We presented the settlement package to the U.S.
• This is being corrected with this settlement.
• The next settlement agreement is a groundwater settlement agreement.
• So those are the major elements of the settlement agreements. Of the settlement agreements.
• For example, the Rio Grande settlement.

Transcript Highlights:

• Now our sacred settlement has six tiny homes.
• Our sacred settlement shares a garden with our Curran neighbors.
• communities to operate these settlements communities to operate these settlements when<00:31:06.679
• <00:38:17.000> Mosaic settlement Mosaic settlement Mosaic also<00:38:19.520> uh<00:38:19.720
• look at if we do the sacred settlement look at if we do the sacred settlement licensing<00:49:00.400

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• You've seen the settlement agreement, correct?
• their obligations under the settlement their obligations under the settlement agreement?
• Members, we are adjourned. us to see this global settlement fully us to see this global settlement fully
• So, we're going to be the settlement.
• So, pay into this to this settlement.

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Summary: The joint committees heard House Bill 344 HD1, which would require new buildings to include electric vehicle charger-ready parking stalls. Testimony was overwhelmingly in support from the State Energy Office, Department of Accounting and General Services, the Disabilities and Communication Access Board, and others. Members asked about cost and infrastructure impacts; the State Energy Office said the added cost would likely be modest if planned from the start, but that electrical capacity remains a key challenge for expanding EV charging. The chairs proposed two amendments: extending the bill to cover on-grade parking lots and adding language for Level 1 or Level 3 charging when appropriate. After discussion, both committees voted to pass HB 344 HD1 with amendments. In the Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs committee, the chair voted aye, one member voted with reservation, and excused members were noted; the Government Operations committee also passed the measure, with one aye vote and one vote with reservations. The committees also heard House Bill 10001 HD1 SD1, relating to the Maui wildfire settlement trust fund. The Governor’s Office, Attorney General’s Office, Maui County, and the Tax Foundation testified in support. Members questioned Hawaii Electric Industries’ ability to fund its share of the settlement and whether the state should pay first or in tranches. The chair proposed amendments requiring all defendant parties to submit payment plans and proof of ability to pay, and requiring non-state defendants to fund their shares into escrow before the state releases its share. The committee adopted the amendments and passed the bill unanimously by the members present. Later, the committee deferred action on House Bill 229 HD1 until March 20 for clarification on amendments, then passed House Bill 860 HD1 with amendments addressing liability for limited resurfacing of disputed roads, and passed House Bill 1161 HD2 with amendments concerning highway fund use, formula calculations, and EV-related county fees.

Transcript Highlights:

• We have Taos, as was mentioned, the Hickory Apache Water Aids settlement was actually the first settlement
• Those settlements—Taos, Navajo, and Ammit in particular—are what are called project-based settlements
• The last settlement that is currently in implementation is the Navajo San Juan settlement.
• So that's our current settlements. Again, we have I'm sorry, the pending settlements.
• The way that those settlements are going is that we usually do a different settlement for different sets

Transcript Highlights:

• to say that now Hastings qualifies for a portion of that settlement.
• to say that now Hastings qualifies for a portion of that settlement.
• Doing an end run around the settlement is not the solution.
• as a beneficiary of these settlement as a beneficiary of these settlement funds<00:04:10.200>
• <00:04:21.560> workg a member of the 3M Settlement workg a member of the 3M Settlement workg

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh moving now to the settlement fund and Uh moving now to the settlement fund and the<00:35:51.680>
• from general funds to that settlement from general funds to that settlement fund<00:37:46.880>
• settlement yet. settlement yet.
• the settlement fund. the settlement fund.
• suspicious of this whole settlement suspicious of this whole settlement thing.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Summary: Division Three of the Finance Committee met in work session on April 20, 2026, to consider Senate Bills 481, 603, and 663, with the discussion focused primarily on SB 481, relative to the sale of the Sununu Youth Services Center property. The chair explained that the bill was advisory only and that the committee’s recommendations would go to full Finance on April 27. For SB 481, members reviewed conflicting provisions in the prior budget law about whether sale proceeds should go to the general fund or the Youth Development Center Claims and Administration Settlement Fund, and the bill was described as a compromise that would direct proceeds to the general fund before June 30, 2027, and to the settlement fund after that date. It was noted that the settlement fund had originally received about $20 million and had roughly $10 million remaining. The committee also received an extensive update from DCYF Director Marie Noonan on the new Youth Development Center in Hampstead. She reported that construction remained on schedule, with major structural and interior work complete, substantial completion expected in late summer or early fall 2026, and occupancy anticipated in early 2027. The presentation highlighted the facility’s design features, including single-occupancy bedrooms, sensory rooms, an education wing, medical and clinical suites, visitation space, a gym, and multiple outdoor courtyards, all intended to support a trauma-informed setting. Members asked about the facility’s funding, square footage, fencing, and scanner; staff said the building is about 34,000 square feet, funded entirely with federal ARPA state recovery funds to date, and that the scanner is on site but not yet operational pending policy and staff training. Committee members also raised concerns about the facility’s design and security. In response, DCYF said some concrete walls are required for structural and safety reasons, but they are being painted to maintain a brighter environment, and that the fencing will be about 15 feet high with privacy netting because the campus is shared with Hampstead. Officials said the new facility is legislatively limited to a maximum of 12 youth, while the current center can house 12 to 18, and emphasized that courts ultimately determine placements. No votes or final actions were taken during the work session.

Transcript Highlights:

• Now our sacred settlement has six tiny homes.
• Neighborhood kids trick-or-treat throughout the settlement.
• communities to operate these settlements communities to operate these settlements when<00:35:20.480
• <00:44:05.760> at settlement at settlement at mosaic<00:44:08.440> for<00:44:09.240>
• you know she she wants these settlements you know she she wants these settlements to<00:57:18.160

Bills: HF1051, HF16

Keywords: sacred communities, micro units, religious institutions, housing regulations, homelessness, conditional use permits, immigration enforcement, sanctuary policies, sanctuary city, noncooperation ordinance, ICE, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, federal immigration authorities, deportation, undocumented immigrant, undocumented person, immigration status data, data sharing, preemption, local government

Transcript Highlights:

• , regardless of whether it's a structured settlement or a one-time settlement before the settlement actually
• > the<01:00:37.440> settlement settlement before the settlement settlement before the settlement
• But yes, structured settlement or lump-sum settlement, we could have a conversation about that.
• But yes, structured settlement or lump-sum settlement, we could have a conversation about that.
• But yes, structured settlement or lump-sum settlement, we could have a conversation about that.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• New Mexico settlement.
• New Mexico settlement.
• And then, is there any risk of delaying water settlement, Indian water settlement rights?
• It's a complicated settlement.
• I think this settlement does that.

Transcript Highlights:

• A few comments, the National settlements with Julie Meade: Mallinckrodt is managed and handled by a settlement
• And I would say that all the settlements have general terms around what the Julie Meade: settlement monies
• So you have direct settlements or independent settlements and national settlements.
• So that is saying, Madam Chair, that settlement monies.
• But there were still settlement monies coming in.

Transcript Highlights:

• In 2017, we reached a three-year settlement agreement with Kaiser.
• I will just note the settlement agreement has a date, which is essentially two years from when the settlement
• And then we do have a date specific in the settlement agreement.
• The settlement agreement kind of lays out...
• Over 18 months after the latest settlement agreement, Over 18 months after the latest settlement agreement

Summary: The Assembly Health Committee held an informational hearing on Kaiser Permanente’s behavioral health care system, focusing on Department of Managed Health Care enforcement actions, Kaiser’s corrective action work plan, and testimony from patients, advocates, and union representatives. DMHC officials reviewed a long history of complaints, surveys, fines, and settlements involving Kaiser’s access to behavioral health services, including deficiencies found in 2012 and 2016, a 2022 non-routine survey, and a 2023 settlement that imposed a $50 million penalty and required $150 million in community investments over five years. DMHC said it continues to monitor Kaiser through quarterly meetings, complaint review, follow-up surveys, and a reimbursement process for members who could not obtain timely in-network care. Committee members pressed DMHC on what “timely access” and continuity of care mean in practice, how virtual care and group therapy fit into the standards, and what triggers a non-routine survey. DMHC said initial behavioral health appointments generally should not take more than two weeks, urgent care should be within days, and follow-up care within 10 days, with out-of-network care required when plans cannot meet standards. Officials also said Kaiser’s initial corrective action work plan lacked detail, but the revised plan was accepted and will be tracked through quarterly reporting and possible additional enforcement if Kaiser fails to comply. The second panel featured testimony from a Kaiser enrollee, a behavioral health policy expert, a Kaiser therapist, and the NUHW president. The enrollee described serious delays and inadequate treatment for his daughter after a suicide attempt, while the therapist and union leader said Kaiser’s behavioral health system is understaffed, relies too heavily on short appointments, group therapy, and webinars, and treats behavioral health as less important than medical-surgical care. They argued Kaiser’s one-appointment-at-a-time scheduling rule and limited treatment time violate parity requirements and harm continuity of care. Several members criticized Kaiser for not appearing at the hearing and said the testimony underscored the need for stronger oversight, clearer metrics, and faster remedies for patients.

Transcript Highlights:

• New Mexico settlement.
• But is there any—I keep hearing the words settlement, settlement, settlement, settlement, settlement.
• New Mexico settlement?
• Just with the Rio Grande settlement, the lower Rio Grande settlement, it's my understanding that part
• But we are in favor of the settlement.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Settlement Program Fund, and then the Tobacco Settlement Permanent Fund in those days was attached to
• So the Tobacco Settlement Permanent.
• Multiple times since the settlement, so the settlement, as you just heard, was in the late 90s.
• In FY 26 and less tobacco settlement.
• But our state statutes for the Tobacco Settlement Revenue Fund, Tobacco Settlement Program Fund, and

Transcript Highlights:

• Some practices in debt settlement are often leaving both parties worse off.
• When a borrower comes to a debt settlement company for help, they can end up paying more in debt settlement
• The debt settlement company makes money, though.
• The good news is California has already set standards to improve debt settlement.
• It doesn't prohibit debt settlement.

Summary: The Assembly Banking and Finance Committee met as a subcommittee at first because a quorum was not yet present, then proceeded with bill presentations and later formal votes once enough members arrived. The chair reviewed committee procedures, including how to submit written testimony and rules for witnesses and conduct. The agenda included AB 771, AB 1507 on the consent calendar, and AB 1166. AB 771 by Assemblymember Massetto was presented as a technical fix to California’s Uniform Commercial Code. Supporters said it would allow a mortgage or deed of trust to serve as a fixture filing without requiring an exact match to the debtor’s ID, reducing duplicate filings, fees, and administrative burdens. There was no formal opposition, and the committee voted due pass. AB 1507 was then adopted on the consent calendar with a due pass recommendation. AB 1166 by Chair Valencia addressed debt settlement protections for small business commercial financing recipients by extending existing California debt settlement standards from consumer loans to business loans. Supporters, including the Responsible Business Lending Coalition and several financing providers, said the bill would curb harmful practices and align incentives, while still allowing debt settlement services. Members asked about the private right of action and statutory damages, and the bill was approved due pass. The committee later reopened the rolls for absent members, recorded additional aye votes, and adjourned after completing the agenda.

Transcript Highlights:

• exception, depend on the type of settlement.
• On the other hand, settlements for emotional distress or mental anguish and settlements For more information
• from taxation. be a few years before those settlement payments are made.
• So I think the governor is committed to providing relief for wildfire settlements.
• Distinction is the timing of the settlement payment itself.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• c> essentially settlement agreements is essentially settlement agreements is essentially lawful<00
• and negotiated in a civil settlement and negotiated in a civil settlement agreement.<00:25:40.640
• provide any evidence that settlements provide any evidence that settlements were<00:29:39.360>
• day to try to get more of a settlement. day to try to get more of a settlement.
• negatively impact settlement amounts. negatively impact settlement amounts.

Bills: HB63, HB19, HB80, HB41, HB20, HB60, HB100, HB71, HB91, HB93, HB63, HB19, HB80, HB41, HB20, HB60, HB100, HB71, HB91, HB93

Keywords: paternity, child custody, joint custody, parental rights, family law, domestic violence, shared parenting, Ebony Alert, missing youth, public safety, law enforcement, racial equity, human trafficking, victim restitution, civil action, criminal prosecution, labor servitude, sexual servitude, class A felony, class B felony

Transcript Highlights:

• And cost settlements.
• Our cost settlements are $248 million.
• In SFY 2025, DHS paid $72 million in inpatient cost settlements and $176 million in outpatient cost settlements
• In SFY 2025, DHS paid $72 million in inpatient cost settlements and $176 million in outpatient cost settlements
• I might have missed it, but what is a cost settlement? Thank you for the question. Cost settlement.

Summary: The subcommittee met to review Department of Human Services hospital payments in Arkansas Medicaid, with DHS Secretary Janet Mann and Deputy Secretary Misty Eubanks presenting first, followed by Arkansas Hospital Association Executive Vice President Jody Ann Tritt and a brief comment from Arkansas Children’s. DHS outlined the main hospital payment streams: fee-for-service per diem payments, upper payment limit (UPL) supplemental payments, cost settlements, and smaller payments such as graduate medical education and disproportionate share hospital funds. Members asked for plain-language explanations of cost settlements, why per diem rates vary by hospital type, and why UPL applies to private hospitals. DHS said cost settlements and UPL are mechanisms to help offset Medicaid underpayment, with SFY 2025 hospital payments totaling hundreds of millions of dollars and no general revenue used for supplemental payments beyond the state share funded through hospital assessments and related financing structures. Committee members focused heavily on whether Arkansas hospitals are adequately reimbursed and why rural hospitals struggle. Tritt explained that critical access hospitals, rural emergency hospitals, PPS hospitals, and specialty hospitals operate under different federal and state rules, and said lower per diem rates for some facilities help with cash flow and later cost settlement adjustments. She said Arkansas hospitals are under financial strain, citing a negative patient services margin statewide and noting that Medicaid, Medicare, and commercial payers all contribute to the problem. She also said the association had just authorized a statewide survey of hospital finances and costs, which she expected would take about a year to complete. A major theme was commercial insurance reimbursement. Tritt argued Arkansas hospitals are paid far less than hospitals in neighboring states even though premiums are similar, and said administrative burdens, prior authorizations, and denials add to the problem. She said hospitals receive about 52 to 53 cents on the dollar for Medicaid costs without UPL and about 78 cents with UPL, still below cost. Members also discussed Medicare wage index issues, Medicare Advantage, and whether hospitals could use technology or alternative arrangements to improve finances. No votes were taken on the hospital presentation. At the end of the meeting, DHS provided a brief update on Living Choices and assisted living reimbursement. Officials said one assisted living facility, Pillars of the Community in Crossett, had announced closure, with nine waiver clients being transitioned to other settings. DHS said the current cost reporting period was underway and that a new rate study could be ready for review before the end of the fiscal year if reports were submitted on time. Members also asked about the broader waiver plan, and DHS said the next waiver iteration would likely be brought back to the committee in the summer.