Transcript Highlights:

• the parking attendants, the support staff, the legislative staffs, the sergeants, the Capitol tour guides
• And you all are at the control switch guiding this flight for the next 140 days.
• And I ask that God bless you and God guide you in your pathway to ensure that together we will keep Texas
• May His wisdom always guide this chamber and forever and ever, may God bless the great State of Texas
• May His wisdom always guide this chamber.

Bills: SCR7

Keywords: legislature, adjournment, permissions, Texas Constitution, session, legislative authority, 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It enhances it by putting complex financial data where it can actually be understood in the voter guide
• It enhances it by putting complex financial data where it can actually be understood in the voter guide
• This is data where it can actually be understood in the voter guide.
• We believe the best place to do this is in the voter information guide, which has space to explain how
• Relegating this information to a separately mailed voter guide will reduce transparency for local tax

Summary: The Assembly Elections Committee met on April 30, 2025, beginning as a subcommittee until a quorum was established. The committee first approved six bills on consent, including AB 950, AB 953, AB 1214, and three committee bills. It then heard several measures dealing with election administration, ballot transparency, and campaign finance, with most authors accepting committee amendments and several bills being held on call for absent members. AB 930 by Assembly Member Ward would extend the deadline for counting timely postmarked vote-by-mail ballots from three to seven days after Election Day and update recount procedures, including online posting of recount results and clearer rules for recount requests. The bill was supported by county election officials and passed out of committee with a due-pass recommendation, though it was initially held on call. AB 459 by Assembly Member DeMaio proposed allowing electronic signatures for initiatives, referenda, and recalls; the Secretary of State and labor groups opposed it over security, implementation, and cost concerns, and the committee ultimately rejected the bill after reconsideration. AB 699 by Assembly Member Stephanie would change how local tiered tax and bond measures are described on ballots by allowing more detail to be placed in the voter guide; housing, school, and local government groups supported it, while taxpayer and realtor groups opposed it as reducing ballot transparency. AB 1188, presented on behalf of Assembly Member Ortega, would list the top three funders supporting and opposing statewide initiatives and referenda directly on the ballot; transparency advocates and labor supported it, while county election officials and business groups raised concerns about ballot length and processing costs. Both AB 699 and AB 1188 passed out of committee with amendments and were held on call. The committee also heard AB 827 by Assembly Member Berman, which would standardize and extend the deadline for curing vote-by-mail signature problems, add a link to cure forms in ballot-tracking notifications, and make other changes to improve ballot curing. It drew no opposition in the hearing and passed with a due-pass recommendation. AB 351 by Assembly Member McKenna would raise the Levine Act contribution threshold for local officials to $1,500 and add CPI adjustments; supporters said it would reduce administrative burdens and reflect modern campaign finance realities, while good-government groups and the League of Women Voters opposed it as weakening anti-corruption protections. The committee initially failed AB 351, then granted reconsideration, but the transcript ends before a final disposition is clearly completed. Finally, AB 1079 by Assembly Member Farías would eliminate the automatic appellate stay in California Voting Rights Act and Fair Maps Act cases; it was supported as a way to prevent delayed remedies in voting rights cases, opposed by the City of Santa Monica over impacts on ongoing litigation, and passed with amendments. After taking up the held items, the committee recorded final votes on the bills, including passage of AB 930, AB 699, AB 1188, AB 827, and AB 1079, and rejection of AB 459.

Transcript Highlights:

• testimony from the Legislative Reference Bureau, I think we need to find a different way to get the tour guides
• working with the introducer to maybe do a resolution or find a different solution to get the tour guide
• c> find a different solution to get the find a different solution to get the tour<00:20:25.320> guide
• 25.919> for<00:20:26.600> the<00:20:26.760> time<00:20:26.919> being tour guide
• back so for the time being tour guide back so for the time being we're<00:20:27.400> going<00

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The Legislative Management Committee met on Wednesday, February 5 at 2 p.m. and heard testimony on four bills. HB 640, relating to child welfare, received testimony from State Ombudsman Robin Matsunaga, who stood on written testimony. HB 792, relating to government services, HB 875, relating to tourism, and HB 1425, relating to the legislature, had no additional in-person or Zoom testimony beyond submitted support or comments. In decision-making, the committee amended and advanced HB 640, removing funding and training requirements, keeping reporting requirements with a clarified definition of the complaint relationship, retaining notice to families of the right to complain to the Ombudsman, and deleting the appropriation. HB 792 was also amended, with the date deferred, and passed with the chair’s recommendation adopted. HB 1425 received technical amendments for clarity, consistency, and style, along with a deferred date, and was passed with amendments. HB 875 was not advanced; the chair said the measure was well-intended but that a different approach was needed to restore tour guides at the state capitol, and announced it would be deferred indefinitely. For the measures that were voted on, the chair and vice chair voted aye, no nays or reservations were recorded, and the committee adjourned after adopting the recommendations.

Transcript Highlights:

• So every district is using that population, but using a guide knowing what counties may or may not be
• That data as a guide when I really had to balance everything based on the 2020 census data.
• So I again could only use them as a guide.
• Well, the population estimate, again, that was just a guide.
• That was simply a decision that I made using those population estimates as a guide, or a helpful guide

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• reason this is important is that a lot of times our folks with disabilities, for instance seeing eye dogs
• :19:24.680> eye excuse me, um for instance seeing eye excuse me, um for instance seeing eye dogs
• <04:19:25.360> or<04:19:25.520> a<04:19:25.560> wheelchair, dogs or a wheelchair
• , dogs or a wheelchair, once<04:19:28.000> somebody<04:19:28.440> sees<04:19:29.000>
• You could imagine, without the reporting measures in this bill, somebody that maybe has a service dog

Keywords: 981, all

Transcript Highlights:

• because we banned where you could hunt the bears with baits or where you could hunt the bears with dogs
• because we banned where you could hunt the bears with baits or where you could hunt the bears with dogs
• Citations or civil penalties or dog at large, failure to license a pet, minor leash law violations.
• Citations or civil penalties or<02:58:07.240> dog<02:58:07.600> at<02:58:07.760> large
• at large, failure to license a or dog at large, failure to license a pet,<02:58:09.760> minor

Keywords: 981, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Um my folks want to help people, but we've got to do it in accordance with the LPA guide.
• Whenever there's somebody that's asking you questions about that, tell them to look at that LPA guide
• the local public agency guide website the local public agency guide book<00:53:48.960> and<00
• Um, and that would be the the LPA guide. Um, and that would be the biggest<00:54:36.880> help.
• tell them to look at that LPA guide tell them to look at that LPA guide because<00:54:42.960>

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The Budget Review Subcommittee on Transportation met with a quorum, approved the June 3, 2026 minutes, and then heard a presentation from Mike Proctor of Evolve Kentucky on electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. Proctor described Evolve Kentucky as a nonprofit formed in 2016 to promote EV adoption and charger deployment, said the group has helped place more than 135 chargers at 65 locations, and reported that Kentucky EV registrations have grown rapidly but still represent about 1% of the state’s roughly 3 million vehicles. He also outlined the group’s view that EV drivers and charger operators already contribute to state revenue through annual vehicle fees, charger taxes, utility taxes, and related business taxes, and cited figures showing rising revenue collections as EV adoption increases. A major theme of the presentation was that EV owners are paying their “fair share” rather than being overcharged. Proctor said the current $126 annual EV fee is roughly comparable to the fuel tax a typical gasoline vehicle would pay, and noted that public charging can add additional tax burdens for drivers who cannot charge at home, such as those living in apartments or condos. He also argued that EVs provide broader benefits, including lower noise and air pollution, grid-stabilizing nighttime charging, tourism spending at destination chargers, and reduced road wear for passenger EVs compared with much heavier vehicles. Members questioned Proctor about whether EV owners are paying more than their fair share, how the fee compares with gasoline taxes, and whether apartment and condo residents are disproportionately affected because they rely on public chargers. Proctor responded that the fee was intended to bring EV owners into parity with gas vehicles, not to overcharge them, and said some public chargers are free while others are used by drivers who cannot charge at home. No additional votes or formal actions were taken beyond the minutes approval.

Transcript Highlights:

• it through appropriately as we've been guiding it all along in a very nonpartisan way.
• it through appropriately as we've been guiding it all along in a very nonpartisan way.
• it through appropriately as we've been guiding it all along in a very nonpartisan way.
• to call the roll on amendment to SP 302, number 2025-2219H. ...it really puts us in a position to guide
• it through appropriately as we've been guiding it all along in a very nonpartisan way.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee met in executive session on SB 302, a bill requiring background checks for solid waste and hazardous waste facility owners. Members discussed and adopted amendment 2025-2219H, which incorporated language from prior Senate and House amendments, including provisions related to the siting evaluation committee and changes affecting landfill expansions and additional cells. The amendment also folded in language from HB 616, the animal cruelty/due process bill, which members said clarifies probable cause, imminent danger, temporary protective custody, and the role of the state veterinarian or designee in animal seizure decisions. Several members emphasized that the bill does not bar seizure of animals in emergencies or prevent nonprofits from fundraising, and that the changes are intended to strengthen due process and reduce conflicts of interest. The committee voted 12-0 to adopt the amendment. It then voted 12-0 to give SB 302 an OTPA recommendation with the amendment included. After the vote, the director raised a concern that the amendment appeared to eliminate the waste management council and related appeal provisions in the governing statutes; members acknowledged the issue and said it was intentional or at least acceptable to address later in committee of conference, where they expected further changes. The committee then agreed to place the bill on the consent calendar. After concluding the executive session, the committee discussed an afternoon field trip to research farms in Lee and Durham. They also accepted an invitation to visit a farm in Fremont on May 30 at 10:00 a.m., with the address provided as 63 South Road, Fremont, New Hampshire.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:58:42.559> an<00:58:42.880> age That's been working on an age-friendly workforce guide
• close to where you could take the $16-an-hour job, and you can't afford a car, it just turns into a dog

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee first handled routine business, including roll call and approval of the prior meeting minutes, with one member abstaining because of absence and one member opposing. The main informational items were a Department of Health and Human Services update on the rural health transformation grant and a public health briefing on vaccines, followed by a quarterly budget and staffing update and an annual report from the Permanent Subcommittee on Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Related Dementias. Commissioner Lori Weaver reported that the department submitted the rural health transformation grant application on November 4, described it as reflecting input from communities and providers statewide, and said CMS review and budget negotiations would follow before final approval on December 31. She said the grant could support hiring as long as administrative costs stay within the 10% cap, and that the governor’s office will oversee administration with HHS. Ian Watt then testified that New Hampshire remains committed to vaccine access, including through the universal purchase program and annual respiratory virus guidance for flu, RSV, and COVID-19. He said the state continues to use evidence-based review for vaccine policy, noted the CDC’s change regarding the combined MMRV vaccine for the first dose in young children, and said New Hampshire’s school vaccine mandates remain at nine for schoolchildren and 10 for child care, with statutory exemptions still in place. Department staff also said there have been no supply or funding problems affecting childhood vaccine access. Nathan White, the department’s CFO, reviewed the DHHS budget and vacancy trends. He said DHHS makes up a large share of the state budget, that about 31% of its budget is general funds subject to lapse, and that lapse projections are difficult because much of the budget is driven by utilization rather than personnel. He reported current projected general fund lapse of just under $20 million, compared with about $39 million in the statewide surplus statement, and explained that only about a third of DHHS general funds can actually lapse because of statutory restrictions. He also said the department has about 400 unfunded positions, contributing to roughly a $30 million general fund reduction across the biennium, and that the hiring freeze has pushed vacancy trends upward while critical direct-care positions are being prioritized. The Alzheimer’s subcommittee reported six meetings this year, presentations on state services, silver alerts, brain health awareness, and palliative/hospice care, and work toward a new state Alzheimer’s plan. The subcommittee is developing a needs-assessment survey for people living with dementia, caregivers, and service providers, with the goal of using the results and other data sources to inform the plan. Its recommendations focus on integrating Alzheimer’s and dementia materials into chronic disease and aging outreach, embedding brain health into systems of care, adding cognitive health measures to BRFSS, and continuing partnerships with statewide organizations. Members also discussed recent research and prevention efforts, and the committee noted that a separate bill is being pursued to include Alzheimer’s and dementia in existing public health awareness campaigns.

Transcript Highlights:

• This will help me guide what questions I ask them. Okay.
• This will help me guide what questions I ask them, but what is the problem we are trying to solve here
• The DOJ compliance guide is extremely clear on this.
• According to the DOJ compliance guide, this list of entities is broad enough to include virtually any
• That is a quote from the DOJ compliance guide. In Krieger v.

Keywords: 970, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We’re working with the governor’s office very closely to bring in an interim director to really guide
• Each work group is led by one or more co-chairs to help guide the work and maintain momentum.
• These work Chairs to help guide the work and maintain momentum.
• The recommendation is to use data strategically to guide investments.
• The recommendation is to use data strategically to guide investments.

Summary: The committee held a work session focused on technology in government, AI, broadband, and digital equity. Seattle CTO Rob Lloyd described the city’s AI strategy, emphasizing responsible use, privacy, security, community input, and data strategy. He said Seattle is using small pilots and partnerships to test AI for tasks such as public records processing, infrastructure inspection, and permitting, while keeping humans as the final decision-makers. Members asked about bias, liability, training on best practices, labor involvement, and public records; Lloyd said AI should remain an assistant tool, not a replacement for human judgment, and that Seattle is still testing solutions for records requests and permitting. WATech CTO Nick Stow and Deputy Director Mark Quimby discussed the state’s broader AI policy, the generative AI executive order, a sandbox with more than 15 agencies, and use cases including a resident portal, cybersecurity, and wildfire detection. They stressed consent, closed systems, human-centered design, and the need to govern all forms of AI, not just generative AI. Committee members raised concerns about federal data access, labor issues, and wildfire detection effectiveness. Spokane County IT staff described a more restrictive approach to AI, citing privacy, bias, and cyber risks. The county standardized on Microsoft Copilot as its only approved chat-style AI tool, blocked other AI chat platforms, and requires human review of all AI-generated content. They said AI is also being used by criminals for phishing and deepfakes, underscoring the need for strong policy and security controls. The committee also received an update from the Attorney General’s AI Task Force. Yuki Ishizuka said the task force has 19 members and eight subcommittees covering ethics, consumer protection, labor, health care, public safety, education, government efficiency, cybersecurity, and industry/energy. The task force is working toward an interim report due December 1, 2025 and a final report due July 1, 2026, and is reviewing recommendations through public forums and advisory committees. Ishizuka warned that a federal budget reconciliation provision could bar states from enforcing AI regulations for 10 years, and several members voiced support for state authority and asked about possible 2026 legislation. The committee then heard updates on broadband and digital equity. Commerce’s Dave Pringle said the BEAD broadband program is being reshaped by new NTIA guidance, which removed or reduced emphasis on several prior priorities, and Washington is now working under an expedited process to submit its state application by September 4. He noted that no projects have been built yet, that four counties did not receive applications in round two, and that the state is trying to keep applicants engaged through office hours and a shortened review window. The Office of Equity and the Digital Equity Forum reported increased participation, new members, and ongoing outreach to tribal, rural, and underserved communities, while previewing recommendations such as creating an interdepartmental digital equity team and improving data use. Finally, Lumen’s Robert Thoms described private-sector broadband deployment challenges, including permitting, regulation, and the economics of extending fiber, while noting continued investment in overbuild projects, a $30 low-cost service option tied to the former ACP, and work with the state, tribes, and libraries. No votes were taken; the meeting consisted of presentations and member questions.

Transcript Highlights:

• So this is going to kind of guide my discussion today.
• And this kind of gives you a guide into why we're even doing that in the first place.
• So now the guiding documents. Again, these are all behind tab one of your binders.
• So the next guiding document is under tab 1B. This is the statutory requirements tracking sheet.
• The next guiding document is under Tab 1C, and that is the definition of adequacy.

Summary: The meeting began with approval of the previous minutes and then focused on an update from the Department of Education on early childhood programs, especially the state-funded Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) program. Secretary Jacob Oliva and Deputy Commissioner Stacey Smith said Arkansas had received a federal Preschool Development Grant and described ongoing work to review ABC slots, which have been flat for years at about 23,800 slots and roughly $114 million. They said about 1,000 slots statewide are currently unfilled despite a waiting list of more than 2,000 families, and the department is shifting toward paying based on enrollment rather than guaranteed slots. Members asked about school choice, income eligibility, year-round access, curriculum flexibility, transportation, and whether funding should be increased or rebalanced; the department said it is collecting data, may survey providers more formally, and is considering whether to modernize income thresholds, daily rates, and other program rules. The committee agreed to form an early childhood subcommittee and asked the Bureau of Legislative Research to help gather historical information on income limits and other program details. The second major portion of the meeting was a legal presentation on the framework for Arkansas school adequacy by BLR education attorney Taylor Lloyd. She reviewed the constitutional basis for a “general, suitable, and efficient” public school system, the Dupree and Lake View cases, and the principle that adequacy and equity are different but related: adequacy asks what resources are needed, while equity asks whether those resources are distributed fairly. She explained that the General Assembly must define adequacy, study it, and react to evidence over time, and that the current adequacy definition includes curriculum and career/technical frameworks, the 38 mandatory Carnegie units, state testing standards, and sufficient funding. She also described the matrix as a funding tool, not a spending mandate, and noted that categorical funds are separate from the matrix. BLR’s Elizabeth Bynum then gave the historical framework, tracing legislative responses from Dupree through Lake View and into the present. She highlighted major changes such as the creation of equalization funding, fiscal distress and academic distress laws, the adequacy study process, the Educational Adequacy Fund, facilities and transportation changes, declining enrollment and student growth funding, and later adjustments to teacher salaries, isolated funding, and categorical programs. She explained that the adequacy study has evolved through committee hearings, surveys, site visits, and outside consultants, and that recent changes include updates to accountability references and the addition or removal of certain funding categories. Members asked follow-up questions about how the matrix is used, whether homeschool or private-school funding raises comparable issues, whether stakeholders include private and homeschool participants, whether school board members should be surveyed, and whether the state should revisit average daily membership versus attendance-based funding. No votes were taken on the adequacy presentations, but the committee did agree to continue the early childhood discussion in a future subcommittee meeting.

Transcript Highlights:

• Today I pause to give thanks for the opportunity to serve and for the higher power that guides my life
• I ask for wisdom and humility for everyone. ...that guides my life.
• Guide us. ...and toward purpose rather than pride.
• Guide us the courage to choose what is right, even when it is difficult.
• Open our minds to viewpoints beyond our own and guide our decisions with wisdom and care.

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• provide in-person training and online webinars, as well as plainly spoken, common-sense, clearly stated guides
• and instructions on its website, including an electronic filing service help guide and other training
• materials, to help guide the public on when the thresholds are met and what would require them to register
• to lobby and all the other various filing requirements. ...materials to help guide the public on when
• their incredible dedication and rigor in providing thoughtful, well-researched recommendations that guide

Summary: The Sunset Advisory Commission met for its final meeting of the biennium, established a quorum, approved the December 11, 2024 minutes, and then voted on recommendations for several agencies reviewed earlier in the cycle. It adopted all recommendations for the Angelina and Nettus River Authority, the Lower Nettus Valley Authority, and the Trinity River Authority of Texas, with no modifications offered for those agencies. The Commission then considered the Texas Ethics Commission. Members adopted staff recommendations with modifications, including changes to lobby compensation thresholds and rounding of inflation adjustments. The Commission also adopted a series of new recommendations addressing TEC customer service staffing, late-filing penalties, post-election reporting penalties, waiver of penalties when notice cannot be shown, review of the “substantial compliance” standard, review of the “principal purpose” definition, more prominent public posting of delinquent penalties, and clearer training and guidance on filing and lobby-registration requirements. The Commission also adopted two previously omitted Texas Department of Criminal Justice recommendations, 6.5 and 6.6. By recorded vote, the Commission unanimously forwarded all recommendations adopted during the biennium to the 89th Legislature, with nine ayes. Sunset staff then reported on implementation of 2023 Sunset recommendations, saying the State Auditor found 89% of selected management actions fully implemented and Sunset staff found 68% of statutory and related changes fully implemented, with the remainder mostly in progress. The Commission also noted receipt of a January 6 evaluation of the Texas Lottery Commission, including a study of potential regulation of lottery ticket courier companies, but no further action was taken on that item. The meeting concluded with closing remarks and a motion to recess subject to the call of the Chair.

Transcript Highlights:

• in-person training and online webinars, as well as plainly spoken, common sense, and clearly stated guides
• in-person training and online webinars, as well as plainly spoken, common sense, and clearly stated guides
• and instructions on its website, including electronic filing service help guides and other training
• materials to help guide the public in when the thresholds are met and what would require them to register
• their incredible dedication and rigor in providing thoughtful, well-researched recommendations that guide

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• , so periodically our program guides, so periodically our program guides, which<00:18:01.280>
• . those program guides board of directors. those program guides are<00:18:10.720> approved<00:
• Sometimes it's in program guides and then it's codified in a contract.
• Sometimes it's in program guides and then it's codified in a contract.
• program guides if not in statute. program guides if not in statute.

Bills: SF2434

Keywords: housing, development fund, affordable housing, Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, expenditure provisions

Transcript Highlights:

• The Attorney General will review the guide once annually and provide the guide to the Agency of Education
• distribute an immigration resource guide distribute an immigration resource guide to<00:57:21.160
• develop the immigration resource guide develop the immigration resource guide referenced<00:57:51.720
• once annually and provide the guide once annually and provide the guide<00:58:01.640> to<00:58
• to the Agency of Education, so guide to the Agency of Education, so that<00:58:03.520> it<00:

Keywords: 926, house, all

Summary: The House opened with a devotional by former member Jason Lorber, who spoke humorously about the difference between asking questions and making statements, urging members to be direct and add value in deliberation. The chamber then took up several resolutions: JRH 11, urging Congress to enact the National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2025, was read and referred to the Committee on Commerce and Economic Development; JRS 51, setting weekend adjournment for May 1, 2026, was adopted in concurrence; and H.C.R. 261 was read, recognizing May 2026 as Older Americans Month and designating May 6, 2026 as Age Strong Vermont Day. Members also used announcements to welcome guests and highlight events, including the Age Strong Vermont initiative, a former member’s return, visitors connected to psychedelic medicine advocacy, an art social, fisheries and trout-in-the-classroom guests, a legislative intern, and a reminder about the May 16 NAMI walk. The House then took up Senate Bill 230, an omnibus labor measure relating to fair employment practices. The committee explanation described technical clarifications to parental and family leave for full-time teachers, expansion of protections for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking, removal of outdated statutory language on mandatory retirement for tenured faculty, and clarification that elected and appointed municipal officers are not employees for minimum wage and overtime purposes. The main new policy in section 3B would prohibit non-compete agreements for non-exempt employees, with an exception for collective bargaining agreements, and would restrict certain non-compete and related clauses in health care provider contracts while preserving continuity of care and excluding non-clinical business support services. The committee reported extensive testimony and voted 11-0-0 to recommend the bill favorably with amendment; the House agreed to propose the amendment to the Senate and ordered third reading. The House also began consideration of Senate Bill 179, updating Vermont’s Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act. The committee presentation explained that the bill would eliminate the current 9-month deadline for disclaimers, reflecting changes in federal tax law and the much larger modern estate and gift tax exclusion, and would modernize the statute in several ways. Proposed changes include clearer rules for jointly held property, allowing pre-death disclaimers, authorizing trustees and parents in limited circumstances to disclaim on behalf of trusts or minor children, permitting disclaimers by proxy for infirm persons, clarifying partial disclaimers and entity disclaimers, improving delivery rules for non-real-estate property, and specifying that a disclaimer is not a transfer for transfer-tax purposes. The bill was described as a response to outdated law in light of an impending large intergenerational wealth transfer, and the House proceeded with second reading discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• So every district is using that population, but using a guide knowing what counties may or may not be
• That data as a guide when I really had to balance everything based on the 2020 census data.
• So I again could only use them as a guide.
• Well, the population estimate, again, that was just a guide.
• That was simply a decision that I made using those population estimates as a guide or helpful guide as

Summary: The Committee on Rules met with a quorum present and took up a presentation from the Governor’s office on proposed congressional reapportionment. Executive Office of the Governor counsel Mo Jazeel argued that mid-cycle congressional redistricting is legally permissible, that race should not be used in drawing districts, and that the Florida Fair Districts provisions are inconsistent with federal equal protection principles and, in the executive branch’s view, are inseverable. Jason Parada then presented the proposed map, explaining that it was drawn using 2020 census block data, with county growth estimates used only as a guide, and that the plan was designed to be race-neutral while also considering compactness, county and municipal boundaries, and other traditional redistricting criteria. He said the map keeps 48 counties and 382 municipalities whole, has compactness scores comparable to the current map, and makes the largest changes in South Florida, with some districts remaining unchanged and others reconfigured around population shifts and geographic boundaries. Members questioned both presenters extensively about the legal basis for disregarding the Fair Districts Amendment, the use of partisan data, the absence of racial analysis, and whether the map truly reflects population growth. Jazeel said the executive branch’s position is that race-based provisions in the state constitution cannot be used if they conflict with the U.S. Constitution, and that the forthcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Calais could further clarify the law. Parada said he did not use race in drawing the map, did use partisan information as one of several traditional criteria, and relied on 2020 census data for population equality. Senators also pressed him on who reviewed the map, why the public and legislators had limited time to review it, and whether the plan was intended to favor Republicans; Parada denied partisan intent and said he was the only person who moved lines on the map, though he consulted with other Executive Office of the Governor staff and counsel. Several senators raised concerns that the map did not clearly reflect Florida’s recent population growth, that some districts remained highly irregular, and that the plan appeared to be based on a legal theory contingent on future court rulings. The presenters responded that congressional districts must be equal to the person, that growth estimates can only guide orientation rather than replace census data, and that the map was designed to preserve as much of the existing structure as possible while making the largest adjustments in South Florida. No vote or final action on the map was taken during the excerpted portion of the meeting, and the committee continued with questions and discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• Eventually, some fishing guides figured out what we were doing, and they started doing a veteran plus
• She actually joined me one year, and I was not an intended fishing guide for this trip.
• <00:15:29.279> for<00:15:29.519> this was not an intended guy guide for this was not
• an intended guy guide for this trip<00:15:30.600> fishing<00:15:31.040> guide<00:15:32.040
• and uh we got a a trip fishing guide and uh we got a a phone<00:15:34.920> call<00:15:35.199>

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• A fishing guide down the Florida Keys for 12 hours yesterday to be able to speak, and I have to work
• And it threatens my future as well because I hope to be a fishing guide in South Florida.
• Tyler Carter, I'm a full-time fishing guide based in Fort Myers.
• I am a full-time fishing guide.
• Listen to our fishing guides and protect farmers all the same time.