Transcript Highlights:

• , um that they are ready to begin work, um that they are ready to begin work, but<00:04:48.240>
• We just didn't do the work.
• We just didn't do the work.
• If you appreciate the work that you do.
• But now we're mandating that 50% right? But now we're mandating that 50% is<00:35:41.400> there.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• With the work from the Office of Broadband and the Public Regulation Commission and federal funds, we
• Working with the Public Regulation Commission, we also have Senate Bill 152, which is providing for a
• Chair, we get a microphone to work here. Mr.
• I'm really proud of the work we do here, and I think it's showing very well.
• But if I don't see the staff, here's thank you all for all your work.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So we work with every entity, every state agency. We work with the Texas Military Department.
• We work with our active duty. We work with our Veterans Service Organization.
• There's five people that work in that facility.
• We work very closely with them.
• She'll be working.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:02:15.040> and to work and to work and to to to cut<00:02:18.200> some<00:02:18.360
• We've got a lot of work to happening.
• <00:04:03.520> with I'd look forward to to working with I'd look forward to to working with
• Seen a lot of work that we've done.
• Perry's work.

Keywords: Public Health and Welfare - Room 216, 24 March, 2026; 11:15 AM, 925, all

Summary: The committee first considered nominees to the Board of Cosmetology and Barbering: Tom Elkins, Todd Freeman, and Aaron Washington. Each described their background in the hair industry and expressed support for making licensing and regulation more workable while still protecting health and safety. Members discussed the need for a balance between oversight and burden, with the chair emphasizing that inspectors should educate rather than intimidate. The committee then voted to advise and consent on the nominees, and the motion carried. The committee next took up the reappointment of Jim Perry to the State Board of Health. Perry described his background in state and federal policy, finance, and health-related work, and said his board service had highlighted operational problems in state government, including personnel and procurement bottlenecks, staffing shortages, succession challenges, and the need for better, more consistent data to guide the state health plan and certificate-of-need decisions. He suggested continued budget support for policy and planning staff, more frequent updates to the health plan, and a review of whether prior procurement and personnel reforms went too far. Members asked about his statement of economic interest and discussed the broader need for better health care information and administration. The committee voted to advise and consent on Perry’s reappointment. It then handled a block of nominations to the Board of Social Workers and Marriage and Family Therapists, voting to take them up and to advise and consent. Finally, the committee addressed the nomination of Dr. Anthony to the State Board of Health, noting that the seat had become vacant due to a recent death and voting to return the nomination to the governor as a procedural matter. The meeting concluded with a motion to rise and report.

Transcript Highlights:

• thank you to both of you for the work thank you to both of you for the work you're<00:08:23.360>
• It was good work.
• It was good work. Um thanks to you for. It was good work.
• thank you, Chair Bennett, for your work thank you, Chair Bennett, for your work on<00:15:49.520>
• <00:17:29.000> People keep working. People love you. People keep working.

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: House File 3489, an education bill establishing field trip supervision rules and creating the criminal offense of grooming, was debated on the House floor. Representative Bennett described the bill as a response to student sexual grooming, saying it would prohibit staff from being isolated alone with students except in limited circumstances, create a felony offense for child grooming, add grooming to mandatory reporting and educator discipline rules, require enhanced reporter training, and allow the Department of Education to look back further than three years in investigations. He also noted an ongoing fiscal cost of a little over $1.4 million, largely tied to additional investigative staff and anticipated prison-bed costs. Several members spoke in support, including Representatives Bakeberg, Jordan, Altendorf, Ryer, Knudson, and Mueller. They emphasized protecting children, strengthening field-trip safeguards, improving communication with licensing boards, and training educators to recognize grooming behavior. Multiple members thanked Hannah LaPresto and Detective Chad Clausen for their work and testimony, and several referenced Hannah’s survivor story as central to the bill’s development. Some members also stressed that the bill was not aimed at the teaching profession generally, but at bad actors who exploit trust and authority. The discussion repeatedly highlighted survivor testimony and the need to believe victims, with some members calling for broader prevention efforts such as education on consent and grooming. Representative Bennett and others said the bill was necessary because grooming is often hidden and can take years to disclose. After debate, the House took the roll, and the bill passed 133-0 with its title agreed to.

Transcript Highlights:

• You've been working on been working on.
• start working on this package? start working on this package?
• worked with to create this package. worked with to create this package.
• And as we have been working on this package to put it together and working with these families, working
• And if we move forward with staffing mandates that don't work for our rural nursing home and assisted

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• As Senator Pettyjohn mentioned, House Bill 433 doesn't mandate anything.
• The bill mandates that existing machines be taken offline, with full physical removal required within
• We understand at the federal level, AARP is working with the operators, particularly with the Clarity
• I worked for TRM Labs, which is one of the major blockchain forensics companies.
• They work in our hospitals and endoscopy centers and our surgery centers.

Bills: HB373

Keywords: infused beverages, THC, alcohol control, regulation, non-intoxicating cannabinoids, marijuana, legalization, taxation

Summary: The Senate Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology Committee met in hybrid format and heard testimony on several bills. HB 373, as amended, would regulate hemp-derived THC-infused beverages by defining the products, limiting them to 10 mg of Delta-9 THC per container, restricting sales to package stores and licensed marijuana retail stores, requiring testing and labeling, and imposing a 50-cent per container tax; the sponsor said the bill is intended to create guardrails and protect youth, and a wholesaler representative testified in support. HB 398 would allow racinos to serve alcohol until 2 a.m. and remove local authority to require earlier closing times; the sponsor and Bally’s representative said it would help Delaware remain competitive and increase revenue, and no opposition was heard. HB 433 would let municipalities and counties extend last call for bars, restaurants, and clubs from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m.; a witness from Connect Delaware supported it as a competitiveness and retention measure, emphasizing that it is permissive rather than mandatory. The committee also heard extensive testimony on HB 441, which would ban cryptocurrency kiosks/crypto ATMs in Delaware and require existing machines to be removed within 90 days. The sponsor and supporters, including AARP, the Delaware Department of Justice, and the League of Women Voters, argued the machines are heavily used in scams, especially against older adults, and that regulation has not been effective. CoinFlip opposed the bill, saying it is a regulated operator, that the fraud statistics are overstated or incomplete, and that Delaware should instead adopt a regulatory framework and amendment. HB 465 would update the criminal code to formally define virtual currency and incorporate it into theft, money laundering, racketeering, and search-and-seizure provisions; the sponsor said it would align Delaware law with modern crypto-related crimes, and no opposition was presented. The committee then heard HB 467, which would prevent landlords from requiring renters to buy insurance from a specific company while still allowing them to require coverage meeting lease terms; the sponsor described it as a consumer-choice bill and there was no public opposition. HB 435 would require payment parity for certified registered nurse anesthetists and physicians when the same services are provided; the sponsor, nurse anesthetists, the Delaware Health Care Association, the Department of Insurance, and ChristianaCare supported it as a workforce and access-to-care measure, with no opposition. Finally, HS 1 for HB 450, the Road DE Act, would overhaul permitting and traffic-impact review, emphasize peak-hour traffic, set density standards in growth areas, create a transportation impact fee, and direct some revenue to open space, farmland, and coastal restoration; realtors, builders, environmental groups, engineers, and GEAR supported it as a way to speed permitting, reduce sprawl, and improve infrastructure planning. The committee adjourned after public comment; no votes were recorded in the transcript.

Transcript Highlights:

• personalities who will have to work personalities who will have to work together.<00:02:26.319><
• weeks while all the members are working weeks while all the members are working on<00:03:22.319>
• <00:03:33.599> with we're looking forward to working with we're looking forward to working
• This is the part where it has to work, and in order for it to work, Leader Damoth and I have to be a
• targets that our chairs will be working targets that our chairs will be working off<00:13:58.800

Keywords: 919, house, all

Summary: House Democratic leaders and House Republican leaders announced a compromise set of budget targets reached Friday night, describing it as a numbers-only deal that leaves policy issues aside. They said the targets are the first step in the budget process: House committee chairs will write bills to fit the targets, those bills will go to Ways and Means, and later leaders will negotiate global targets with the governor and Senate. Leaders emphasized that the agreement reflects compromise rather than either party’s ideal budget, and that they will continue talks with Governor Walz and the Senate over the next several weeks. The speakers highlighted what was not included in the deal, saying it does not target paid family and medical leave, earned sick and safe time, reproductive rights, or universal school meals. They said the House priorities that did make it in include housing, education, pensions, public safety, and transportation. On education, they said the compromise provides $40 million in new money in the first biennium for the READ Act and no cuts in either biennium, contrasting that with larger cuts in the governor’s and Senate proposals. They also said schools could still choose to fund unemployment insurance for school workers from existing resources, though it was not earmarked in the targets. Leaders said the agreement leaves room for committee chairs to make choices within the targets, including in health and human services, where they described the target as a reduction in projected growth rather than a cut to existing appropriations. They said the budget plan sets aside discretionary inflation adjustments in the first biennium while preserving inflation indexing for items like the K-12 formula. They also said the deal improves the state’s long-term balance, with a projected $1.6 billion balance in the first biennium and a $1.3 billion deficit in the second, and that the House’s numbers do not include the same revenue assumptions as the governor’s and Senate’s plans. In questions, leaders said conference committees will require majority support from both House and Senate conferees, and that the House will send equal numbers of Democratic and Republican conferees. They said the bonding bill size is still under discussion, but the adopted numbers would allow for roughly a $700 million general obligation bill. They also said large state spending for professional sports facilities is likely over, and explained that the press conference was held without Republican leaders for logistical reasons after the deal was reached late Friday.

Transcript Highlights:

• We can't say, okay, Ways and Means is going to work on the budget, everyone else is going to work on
• We work incredibly close with the U.S.
• Their work is not political. Their work furthers the understanding of the natural world.
• I appreciate your response as well as your work and the administration's work on this. Thanks.
• I appreciate your response as well as your work and the administration's work on this. Thanks.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The inaugural hearing of the newly named House Committee on Federal Funding, Policy and Accountability focused on how federal policy changes could affect Massachusetts, especially in education, health care, research, infrastructure, climate, and business conditions. Chair LaNatra said the committee was created to monitor federal funding decisions and their impacts on state programs and services. Members introduced themselves, then heard testimony from Doug Howgate of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, Sarah Mills of Associated Industries of Massachusetts, and Quentin Palfrey, the governor’s Director of Federal Funds and Infrastructure. Howgate argued that the Trump administration and new Congress pose ideological, practical, and process-related risks to Massachusetts, citing proposed cuts to Medicaid, education, research, and other domestic programs. He said federal dollars make up about a quarter of the state operating budget and capital plan, warned against using one-time reserves to backfill ongoing federal cuts, and urged the state to prioritize core services while protecting areas where Massachusetts is especially strong, such as higher education and research. In response to committee questions, he said the House Medicaid proposal would still cost Massachusetts hundreds of millions and that international student and NIH-related changes could harm the state’s labor force and innovation economy. He also advised that the state communicate clearly without overreacting to daily federal developments. Mills testified that AIM members are most concerned about uncertainty, tariffs, Medicaid cuts, and NIH reductions. She said tariffs are raising costs, disrupting supply chains, and hurting small and medium-sized businesses, housing construction, and exporters, with AIM’s business confidence index falling to its lowest level since the pandemic. She said Medicaid cuts would raise employer health costs, reduce productivity, and strain the health care system, while NIH cuts would threaten Massachusetts’ life sciences and academic research ecosystem. In questions, she said AIM has increased federal outreach, is coordinating with the U.S. Chamber and the Massachusetts delegation, and is hearing concerns from employers about immigration compliance and workforce disruptions. Palfrey described the Healey-Driscoll administration’s efforts to maximize federal funding, including a biweekly interagency council, a municipal partnership effort, and a statewide roadshow. He said Massachusetts has secured nearly $9 billion from major federal laws for projects such as the Cape Cod bridges, Allston Multimodal, grid modernization, clean-energy school buses, and broadband. He also said the administration launched a public website to track federal impacts and is working with municipalities, nonprofits, and the Attorney General on grant changes, legal issues, and litigation. In response to questions, he warned that cuts to NOAA, NSF, Medicaid, SNAP, and other programs could affect services and the state budget, and said the administration is tracking changes to federal grant applications and conditions. No votes were taken; the hearing was informational only.

Transcript Highlights:

• My name is Melanie Benesh, and I work for the Environmental Working Group, which is a national public
• Yeah, I think that works. I mean, I think it's fine language.
• It's mandated by code in here, so that remains.
• It's mandated by code in here, so that remains.
• I'm sorry, 62-11A is work release.

Keywords: 994, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• commission and the good work they do. commission and the good work they do.
• I've enjoyed working with Mr. Bernard and the ... I’ve enjoyed working with Mr.
• been a pleasure to work with. been a pleasure to work with.
• work. doesn't just clarify annual. work. doesn't just clarify annual.
• the of folks working the streets working the of folks working the streets working the as<02:25

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We have worked with opposition, and we will continue to work with opposition until we hopefully reach
• I've worked on human trafficking in California for the last 20 years.
• This is very specialized work.
• We're willing to work with the author, and we appreciate the work that's happened so far.
• It's just so vague that I don't think it'll work in our disasters.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Those things can work too well together.
• You and I know how this works, right?
• Chairman, this bill does not do that, and it needs some work.
• We will commit to work with Mr.
• Chair King had to get back home to have some water work done.

Bills: HB1464, HB1635, HB2516, HB3317, HB3502, HB4012, HB4268, HB4386, HB4877, SB916

Keywords: prescription drugs, drug pricing, pharmacy benefits, health insurance, health benefit plan, insurer, HMO, self-insured employer, public employer, school district, county, municipality, university system, higher education, retirees, dependent coverage, stop-loss coverage, bulk purchasing, group purchasing, purchasing pool

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, we've tirelessly worked towards getting here.
• I'm thankful for all those who worked on the bill.
• I'm, I'm still working on some language that will work here, but, but what we want to do.
• It does not mandate a contribution rate increase.
• I work as a presiding judge, and so I, I work with a lot of retired judges.

Transcript Highlights:

• Well, I'll be happy to work with you on that. Thank you. That works. Thank you, Senator Hinojosa.
• The work to address nagging problems can be disjointed.
• TEA is mandated to create a model of this form posted on their website.
• tailor these policies at work for the districts.
• And, of course, Faith, we go back many years working on this topic.

Bills: HB126, HB121

Keywords: election laws, attorney general, prosecution, criminal offenses, voting integrity, education, property values, school districts, comptroller, funding formula

Summary: The Senate Committee on Education K-16 met to hear testimony on a full agenda of education-related bills. Several measures were laid out and left pending, including HB 322 to allow JET Grant funds to be used for subscription-based and ongoing technology costs for career and technical education; HB 3062 to require fentanyl and drug-poisoning prevention instruction for entering college students; HB 121 to update school safety laws, including TEA peace officer commissions, annual renewal of certain safety exceptions, new reporting requirements, and special education behavior threat assessment changes; HB 3627 to let the State Board of Education chair employ staff; HB 5515 to curb inflated shipping and handling charges on instructional materials; HB 2674 to prohibit new state regulation of homeschool programs; HB 2310 to require a statewide strategic plan for early learning and inclusion for young children with disabilities; HB 367 to standardize documentation for excused absences due to serious illness; HB 1178 to speed certification for out-of-state educators and military spouses; and HB 1481 to expand cell phone restrictions to the full school day. Testimony was generally supportive on most bills, with some concerns raised on HB 121 about school district police departments investigating misconduct and on HB 2674 about how it would interact with the new ESA program in SB 2. HB 5515 drew support from instructional materials coordinators who described extreme shipping invoices and argued the bill would restore transparency and fiscal responsibility. HB 2310 was supported by disability advocates and early learning groups, who said a coordinated state plan would improve access and inclusion for children with disabilities. HB 367 was presented as a simple clarification to reduce confusion for medically vulnerable students and families, and HB 1178 was described by TEA as a modest pathway that would help bring experienced out-of-state teachers into Texas schools more quickly. HB 126, updating Texas’ NIL law to align with the pending House settlement and allow direct payments and pre-enrollment NIL agreements, received extensive testimony from university counsel and committee questioning about the settlement, recruiting, and future college athletics rules. HB 1481, expanding school cell phone restrictions from instructional time to the entire school day, drew strong support from parents, students, educators, and advocates who linked phones to distraction, cyberbullying, and mental health harms; one teacher asked for flexibility so phones could still be used for limited academic tasks. No bills were voted out; each measure heard was left pending subject to the call of the chair, and the committee then recessed to attend the floor session.

Transcript Highlights:

• We are working. with the consultant in terms of scoping out and the development as to really work towards
• Everyone's working really hard.
• Well, I appreciate the work of everyone at DOJ.
• Keep up the good work. Thank you. Thank you.
• Court or the Court of Appeal doing the same kind of work. work.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• That this work is not just a five-year type of work; it needs to be an ongoing type of commitment in
• that we're already working with.
• But we have worked closely.
• School Meals for All and KIT are working. are working.
• So we're working with Senator Perez, and we'd love to work with you on trying to establish this online

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Different companies that work in this space; there are some that work in the agricultural space to keep
• We're also working on an agreement with them.
• And that's working. We're getting a lot of entry.
• I know that you've done some of that work, but I encourage you to continue that work. consider running
• You work with Sandia? But you work with Los Alamos.

Transcript Highlights:

• And I want to say I'm just very proud of the work that he's doing and the work that Española is doing
• Work on an acequia, start working at the Soil and Water District, become contractors, get their degrees
• Speaker, they know who does the work in New Mexico.
• How could that work? Mr.
• How will that work? Work with them. I know that recycling does create a lot of emissions. Mr.

Transcript Highlights:

• I'm talking working families, working military members of the military that are struggling. to provide
• And when I talked to one of the kids, his father worked at Conoco but he worked in the mail room.
• What worked, what didn't work.
• And should we then... okay, let's say that we... don't mandate a waiver, but we do mandate all of those
• That's not going to work, right?

Bills: HB 3

Keywords: emergency communication, public safety, interoperability, Texas Interoperability Council, grant program, emergency communications, public safety radio, first responders, radio system, dispatch, 911, emergency management, Texas Division of Emergency Management, public safety infrastructure, Project 25, P25, broadband emergency alerting, outdoor warning sirens, homeland security, disaster response