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House Republicans said Tuesday they will remove a controversial proposal from Gov. John Kasich's budget that would make major changes in state support for medically fragile children. Kasich proposed moving the Bureau of Children with Medical Handicaps program from the Department of Health to the Department of Medicaid and slashing household income eligibility limits to address an $11 million shortfall. ... Currently, families earning up to 500 percent of the federal poverty level, or $123,000 for a family of four, qualify for assistance. Kasich proposed capping eligibility at 225 percent of poverty, or $55,350 for a family of four. About half of the current participants meet that criteria. The rest would be grandfathered in until age 21. (Borchardt, 4/11)

Proposed budget cuts that would eliminate some state contracts with agencies that support foster families will undo years of progress and put Nebraska's most vulnerable children at risk, child welfare advocates said Tuesday. Gov. Pete Ricketts' proposed budget would cut about $15 million over two years from child welfare programs, and eliminate one that provides post-adoption services to help families stay together. (Shumway, 4/11)

What appeared to be a minor change on Iowa income tax forms erupted into a heated debate Tuesday in the Iowa Senate with Democrats accusing Republicans of a mean-spirited move to deprive low-income children of government-funded health insurance. Sen. Randy Feenstra, R-Hull, the bill's floor manager, said the legislation would eliminate a requirement that Iowans indicate on their state tax returns the presence or absence of health care coverage for their dependent children. (Petroski and Pfannenstiel, 4/11)

Counties across Colorado, urban and rural, struggle to hire and keep child protection caseworkers, a high-stress, sometimes traumatic job with low pay. Solving this problem is the target of new legislation from a state lawmaker who is a former caseworker. A bill from Rep. Jonathan Singer, D-Longmont, would create caseworker “resiliency programs” to help them handle the “secondary trauma” brought on by their jobs. (Brown, 4/11)

When Rep. Matt Rinaldi, R-Irving, laid out his amendment to ban abortion providers from receiving any funds from the state budget, House members had already been in the chamber for more than 12 hours to debate amendments on the proposed two-year state budget. Rinaldi's amendment passed in part because lawmakers agreed to bypass floor debates on dozens of other amendments and instead insert them into a non-binding portion of the budget known as "the wish list." ... Sarah Wheat, chief external affairs officer for Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, said it's unclear how affiliates would be affected. “I assume his goal is to create new barriers, but we’re not clear yet on how he’s trying to achieve that,” Wheat said of Rinaldi. Wheat pointed out that state and federal laws already prohibit taxpayer dollars from being spent on abortions. (Evans, 4/11)

A statewide effort to alleviate Minnesota’s chronic shortage of psychiatric beds by freeing up space at state mental hospitals would be jeopardized under budget proposals before the Legislature, the head of Minnesota’s largest state agency warned Tuesday. During a visit to a community mental hospital in Baxter, Minn., Human Services Commissioner Emily Piper said a proposed $600 million reduction in the Human Services budget would force the state to reduce staffing and capacity at state-operated mental facilities, reversing a year of progress in expanding access to treatment for psychiatric patients. (Serres, 4/11)

With just 25 days left in the legislative session this year, a bill to give workers’ compensation coverage to first responders with post-traumatic stress disorder has stalled. Several police officers have come forward with post-traumatic stress disorder diagnoses after the Pulse nightclub shooting. (Aboraya, 4/11)

[Geneva] Reed-Veal, an Illinois resident, was one of a number of witnesses, a vast majority of whom spoke in support of the Sandra Bland Act, which is pending before the [Texas] House Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee. The comprehensive legislation's changes include requiring law enforcement agencies to test for profiling by documenting the race and ethnicity of drivers stopped; mandating people experiencing mental health crises and substance abuse be diverted to treatment instead of jail; and creating more de-escalation training for law enforcement personnel and serious incident reporting requirements for county jails. (Silver, 4/11)

The head of the Legislative Black Caucus said Tuesday her organization wants Gov. Larry Hogan to recall the General Assembly to Annapolis for a one-day special session to pass a law expanding the medical marijuana industry. That legislation failed in the waning minutes of the annual 90-day session on Monday night, ending a months-long fight to grant lucrative medical cannabis growing licenses to companies owned by minorities. (Cox, 4/11)