Transcript Highlights:

• But really, the 10-hour workday has really saved us in East Texas, West Texas, in the Texas panhandle
• We can hire people in South Texas and West Texas.
• We can hire people in South Texas and West Texas.
• West Texas, there are parts of West Texas where Amarillo...
• Government Code.

Bills: SB1

Keywords: campground safety, youth camp regulations, flood safety, emergency evacuation, health and safety standards

Summary: The committee heard a Legislative Budget Board presentation and then testimony from the Department of Public Safety on the Article 5 public safety budget. LBB said DPS’s 2026-27 recommendation totals $3.7 billion, down from the prior base, while FTEs rise by 856.7. Major items included increased funding for driver license services and customer support, new trooper funding and recruit schools, crime lab operations, border security, and reductions tied to one-time facility, vehicle, and aircraft spending. The committee also discussed new riders, including one to lapse unused trooper funds and require reporting after recruit schools. Members focused heavily on driver license operations, questioning why prior staffing increases and a prior efficiency study had not solved long wait times, high call abandonment, and appointment delays. DPS and LBB said the agency receives about 22,000 calls per day, answers only about 9 percent, and is seeking more staff plus technology upgrades such as automation, kiosks, and better online processing. Senators also raised concerns about rural access, REAL ID document requirements, and whether the department should rethink its processes rather than simply add employees. DPS leadership then described needs for the Williamson County training academy, additional troopers, Capitol and Alamo security, border operations, aircraft and vehicle replacement, and regional headquarters in El Paso and San Antonio. Members asked about Operation Lone Star costs, overtime, pursuit safety, border crime, oilfield theft, and sexual assault kit and toxicology backlogs. DPS said border deployments remain focused on criminal threats, that overtime is partly driven by deployments and staffing shortages, and that the sexual assault kit backlog is down to 118 cases with a goal of zero by April. The committee later recessed and began the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission budget presentation, where LBB outlined a $115.1 million recommendation and noted ongoing costs for the AIMS technology project.

Transcript Highlights:

• Many, solution to the labor shortage.
• It's knowing codes. It's a whole broad range of things.
• It's knowing codes. It's a whole broad range of things.
• It's knowing codes. It's a whole safety. It's knowing codes.
• > a<04:47:57.920> broader Texas, for example, allows a broader Texas, for example, allows

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Texas Farm Bureau.
• in Texas.
• built early Texas.
• Texas cotton was sold around the world. Texas beef feeds the world today.
• tradition in Texas.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And the Nuremberg laws were drafted after the Black Codes and the Jim Crow laws of the South here in
• Jack joined the Polish resistance and eventually spent time in a forced labor camp, and Anna survived
• They live in Texas, his grandmother actually got into a fender bender and got on the side of the road
• And just to make note of the fact, not only do we have our wonderful labor chair presenting.
• The Labor Committee only has three staff members and only one secretary.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Keep Texas competitive.
• It has to be coded manually.
• Additionally, we've set new record highs for the number of Texans working and the size of the Texas labor
• The Texas model, as DIR's structure is known by other states, of Texas.
• Sexual Assault, the Texas Council on Family Violence, Texas CASA, B-CFS, and CAC Texas.

Bills: SB 1

Keywords: campground safety, youth camp regulations, flood safety, emergency evacuation, health and safety standards

Summary: The committee began with Article I budget items for the Secretary of State. LBB staff outlined recommendations that would reduce the agency’s appropriation by about $40.3 million, including changes to HAVA funding, removal of one-time business system replacement money, and a rider directing the agency to use Fund 5095 first. Secretary Jane Nelson and staff then defended several exceptional items, especially additional staffing for elections and business filings, a new website, digitization of records, cybersecurity tools, and renovation of the James Earl Rudder Building. Members focused heavily on election administration, cross-checking voter rolls, Harris County complaints, call-center response times, and whether online voter registration should be expanded. No votes were taken; the discussion was informational and budget-focused. The committee then heard the Office of the Governor and trustee programs. LBB presented a recommended $2.4 million decrease for the governor’s office proper and a much larger decrease in trustee programs driven by one-time funding and unexpended balances, while still preserving major border security funding and victim assistance funding. Governor’s staff emphasized Texas’ economic growth, the importance of border security, and efforts to seek federal reimbursement for the roughly $11 billion Texas has spent on border operations. Members discussed whether shifting National Guard deployment to federal control could reduce state costs, and they also reviewed the music incubator program, the Governor’s University Research Initiative, and the semiconductor innovation consortium. Staff highlighted a $5 million late-added request for grants to protect nonprofits from violence and terrorism. Again, the exchange was largely explanatory, with no formal action. Finally, the committee took up the Texas Facilities Commission and lease payments for revenue bonds. LBB recommended major reductions overall, including removal of border wall construction funding and capital complex bond funding, but added money for higher utility costs, renovation of the Rudder Building, and additional facilities staff. George Purcell also noted stable maintenance-and-renewal funding and new riders related to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission building, tenant communications, and space utilization. For lease payments, LBB recommended a smaller appropriation tied to revenue-bond costs allocated across agencies. The discussion was informational, with members asking about the Rudder Building renovation, border wall progress, and capital complex construction timelines; no votes were recorded.

Transcript Highlights:

• otherwise abusing animals used for labor otherwise abusing animals used for labor transporting<01
• Many other states like Texas have long championed electronic recording.
• Many other states like Texas have long championed electronic recording.
• Many other states like Texas have long championed electronic recording.
• Many other states like Texas have long championed electronic recording.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• You think of chip making, you think maybe Texas, maybe Arizona, and other states.
• we're not familiarly associated with semiconductor manufacturers, is a headline act like an Intel or Texas
• Department of Labor has approved Fleet Force to operate as Florida's only registered... ...Department
• of Labor has approved Fleet Force to operate as Florida's only registered CDL apprenticeship program
• So those computer science skills, cybersecurity skills, cloud computing skills, coding, all of those

Summary: The Careers and Workforce Subcommittee met for its first meeting of the year, took roll, and heard member introductions centered on the importance of workforce pathways beyond the traditional four-year college route. Members repeatedly emphasized manufacturing, trades, rural workforce needs, apprenticeships, and helping students and adults find multiple paths to good jobs. The chair outlined the subcommittee’s focus on policies that build a skilled workforce and announced the day’s theme would be manufacturing, with presentations from the Florida Department of Commerce, the Florida Semiconductor Institute, and Fleet Force CDL training. Secretary Alex Kelly presented Florida’s manufacturing report, saying manufacturing is a major economic driver and that Florida has become the 10th largest state in manufacturing employment. He highlighted strong job multipliers, rapid growth in manufacturing GDP and establishments, the importance of logistics and ports, and the state’s small-business-heavy manufacturing base. He also stressed the aging manufacturing workforce, the need for modern skills such as robotics, cybersecurity, and data analytics, and the role of public-private partnerships, apprenticeships, and workforce education investments in supporting reshoring and industry growth. Dr. David Arnold described Florida’s semiconductor sector and the Florida Semiconductor Institute’s mission to grow research, workforce, and ecosystem development. He said semiconductors are strategically important, Florida ranks fifth nationally in semiconductor workforce, and the main bottleneck is mid-level technician talent rather than engineers or entry-level workers. He pointed to NeoCity, Valencia College, and other regional partnerships as models, and said the state needs more proactive planning, better instructor capacity, and stronger pathways from K-12 through postsecondary. Evan Agiloff of Fleet Force discussed Florida’s CDL shortage, saying trucking is essential to the supply chain, Florida has about 18,000 open CDL positions, and Fleet Force’s college-based model can quickly move students into middle-class jobs. Members asked about apprenticeships, CTE pathways, semiconductor training, infrastructure needs, and how to expand and better fund workforce programs; no votes were taken.

Transcript Highlights:

• keeps up with the pace of the industry and we must be aggressive because I will tell you California, Texas
• Seeing none, you are recognized to present the amendment bar code 518919. Rep.
• So what we're looking at is the age and the amount of trafficking going on - labor trafficking, sex trafficking

Transcript Highlights:

• For example, Texas had some great initiatives that came out of their state legislature last year.
• Last week, for example, Texas had some great initiatives that came out of their state legislature last
• We enforce the Arkansas Insurance Fraud Act and the Arkansas Criminal Code.
• We enforce the Arkansas Insurance Fraud Act and the Arkansas Criminal Code.
• It puts a one-time code in there. Without that direct touch, it generates an algorithm.

Keywords: 1204, all

Summary: A joint House-Senate Insurance and Commerce meeting focused on the growing threat of financial fraud in Arkansas, with members hearing from bankers, the Attorney General’s office, the state bank and securities commissioner, the insurance department, AARP, and mortgage industry representatives. Witnesses described fraud as increasingly organized, technology-driven, and often transnational, with common schemes including spoofed bank calls and texts, fake websites and social media impersonations, business email compromise, gift card and wire scams, crypto kiosk fraud, check fraud, and mortgage/real estate fraud. Several witnesses emphasized that seniors are disproportionately targeted and that losses are often underreported because victims feel embarrassed or do not know where to report incidents. Testimony highlighted both state and national responses. Bankers and regulators pointed to Arkansas’s 2025 actions on crypto ATMs and elder-fraud education, including training for gift-card sellers and safe-harbor protections for banks under the Safe AR Act. The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division described its complaint process, a new financial fraud task force, and examples of recovered funds, including quick recoveries from Bitcoin kiosk scams and wire fraud cases. The American Bankers Association and others urged stronger accountability for telecoms and social media platforms, citing spoofed caller ID, impersonation ads, Section 230 issues, and the need for a national scam-prevention strategy or federal office. Artificial intelligence was identified as a major emerging risk because it can generate convincing scam emails, websites, and impersonation content at scale. Members asked about reporting procedures, whether banks reimburse fraud losses, how crypto affects recoverability, the safety of tap-to-pay versus chip use, and whether public online records contribute to fraud. Witnesses generally advised victims to report scams through the proper channels, avoid clicking links or responding to suspicious messages, and verify requests independently by contacting institutions directly. The committee also heard that banks and regulators are already sharing information and educating consumers, but that more legislative and cross-agency action may be needed. No formal vote or bill action was taken beyond approval of the November 3, 2025 minutes.

Transcript Highlights:

• for college admissions in Texas.
• To verified labor market needs in Texas and based on US Bureau of Labor Statistics data, and these are
• That's all good for Texas. It's good for businesses in Texas.
• from the Texas-Louisiana border to the Big Bend region of West Texas.
• We'll have the Texas Tech system in as well as, uh, Texas State Technical College.

Transcript Highlights:

• adventures at the time were mainly in the southern part of the state, until I took a road trip to Texas
• Roybal Caballero, an act relating to labor, increasing the minimum wage for certain employees, providing
• House Bill 246 has been read twice by title, is ordered printed, and referred to the House of Labor,
• House Bill 264, having been read twice by title, is ordered printed and referred to the House Labor,
• distinguishing health care sharing ministries from insurers as defined by the New Mexico Insurance Code

Transcript Highlights:

• Calendar 353, Senate Print 4473, Senator Ramos, an act to amend the Labor Law.
• Calendar 353, Senate Print 4473, Senator Ramos, an act to amend the Labor Law.
• This is not some green tree-hugger number: $30 billion in savings for Texas ratepayers.
• This is not some green tree-hugger number: $30 billion in savings for Texas ratepayers.
• some green tree-hugger number: $30 billion in savings for Texas ratepayers.

Keywords: 993, senate, all

Summary: The Senate opened with the Pledge of Allegiance, approved the prior day’s journal, and then recognized several guest groups, including the Shenendehowa High School girls varsity cross country team and tennis champion Jolie Chichak, as well as the Downsville Central School Student Council. Senator Tedisco introduced the Shenendehowa athletes, highlighting their state and federation championships and strong academic records, and Senator Oberacker introduced the Downsville students. The chamber extended courtesies to the guests. The Senate then moved through the calendar, passing a series of bills and resolutions. Among the measures approved were a bill designating Overdose Awareness Day, a real property tax bill, a public authorities bill, several education-related bills, a private housing finance bill, a workers’ compensation bill, and a labor law bill. Some items were laid aside before later being taken up, including the cannabis bill and the environmental conservation bill. Votes were largely unanimous or near-unanimous, with a few recorded negatives on certain bills. The most extensive debate centered on Calendar 261, Senator May’s environmental conservation bill concerning renewable energy installations and transmission on state reforestation lands. Senator Walczyk and others questioned whether the bill would allow solar, wind, battery storage, tree cutting, herbicide use, and reduced environmental review, while supporters argued the bill was mainly about transmission corridors, climate goals, and preserving flexibility for DEC oversight and mitigation. After debate, the bill was restored to the non-controversial calendar and passed 42-13. The Senate also passed Calendar 353, Senator Ramos’s labor law bill addressing class action wage recovery and statutory damages. Supporters said it would clarify the law so workers can recover full wages in class actions, while opponents warned it could encourage litigation against small businesses over technical payroll errors. The bill passed 47-8. The Senate then completed the calendar and adjourned until March 4, 2026, with intervening days as legislative days.

Transcript Highlights:

• My home state of Texas, as well as the rest of the nation, will benefit from Mr.
• Chairman Cruz mentioned it, because states like Texas, Ohio, Arizona, New York, and many others on the
• I have to say I'm partial to calling it the Gulf of Texas, but everyone can have their own opinion on
• It tailors health care treatment to a patient's unique history and genetic code.
• So my request is this: it's not just DEI; it's environmental requirements, labor requirements, and so

Transcript Highlights:

• Right now, Texas and Florida are generating more clean power than California, Right now, Texas and Florida
• PERB for adjudicating unfair labor practice charges.
• I do appreciate the comments regarding labor. I had an extensive discussion with my labor partners.
• I do appreciate the comments regarding labor. I had an extensive discussion with my labor partners.
• Their concern is having a labor representative of my labor partners, their concern is having a labor

Keywords: 987, senate, all

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum present, offered a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, and then proceeded through gubernatorial appointments and third-reading measures. Three appointments to the California Housing Finance Agency Board and the State Mining and Geology Board were confirmed by unanimous or near-unanimous votes. The body then considered a series of bills on criminal procedure, military authority, housing, refinery safety, land use, music festivals, homelessness planning, solar tax assessment, HOA assessments, privacy, utility accounts, refrigerant disposal, law enforcement training, natural gas planning, school transfers, and regional transportation planning. Among the more debated measures, SB 1173 on lesser related offense instructions passed 25-10 after opposition centered on judicial discretion and consistency. SB 1354, limiting out-of-state military or law enforcement activity without the Governor’s permission, passed 29-9 after supporters framed it as a sovereignty measure and opponents argued federal command authority controls. SB 1090, the Altadena disaster-speculation bill, passed 29-9; supporters said it would curb predatory investor purchases after wildfire disasters, while opponents raised concerns about property rights and market effects. SB 966 on refinery worker participation in safety standards passed 30-9 amid a dispute over worker protections versus regulatory burden, and SB 1256, a local housing/subdivision bill, passed 32-0 despite concerns about fire-safety amendments. The Senate also approved SB 865 on music festivals, SB 866 on homelessness planning with a commitment to exempt smaller cities, SB 1007 on HOA assessment transparency and homeowner approval thresholds, SB 923 on privacy deletion rights, SB 1098 on utility balancing accounts, SB 1010 on refrigerant recovery, SB 937 on flashbang and breaching-device restrictions, SB 1082 on inter-district transfer timelines, and SB 1087 on modernizing regional transportation planning. SB 1329 on solar farm property tax assessment drew extensive debate over county revenues, solar development certainty, and fairness to rural communities, but ultimately passed after the call was lifted. Several measures were supported by authors and committee chairs as balancing consumer, worker, or local government protections against concerns about costs, regulatory stability, and local control.

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:58:50.960> to labor.
• So, if I bump up my labor to labor.
• It's a labor of love.
• It's a labor of love.
• So, it costs, not including labor. So, it excludes<01:10:21.600> labor.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Bills: SCR56, SCR79, SCR85, SCR120, SCR129, SCR181, SCR63, SCR112, SCR194, SCR195, SCR196, HB202, HB963, HB1050, HB1511, HB1546, HB1550, HB1553, HB1643, HB1656, HB1658, HB1664, HB1667, HB1682, HB1700, HB1721, HB1810, HB1823, HB1824, HB1878, HB1969, HB2005, HB2078, HB2152, HB2246, HB2270, HB2279, HB2289, HB2385, HB2417, HB2429, HB2503, HB2599, SB253, SB847, SB1142, SB1432, SB2043, SB2050, SB2074, SB2102, SB2135, SB2138, SB2140, SB2320, SB2340, SB2386, SB2396, SB2397, SB2398, SB2433, SB2446, SB2521, SB2544, SB2567, SB2578, SB2580, SB2595, SB2601, SB2645, SB2673, SB2706, SB2727, SB2802, SB2852, SB2892, SB2929, SB2972, SB3007, SB3069, SB3073, SB3076, SB3136, SB3138, SB3157, SB3204, SB3234, SB3247, SB3302, SB3324, SB3325, HB1815, HB2592, HCR32

Keywords: lifeguards, first responders, public safety, ocean safety, emergency response, community wellbeing, invasive species, octocoral, Pearl Harbor, environment, Navy responsibility, marine ecosystem, ecosystem preservation, shoreline maintenance, civil service, classification review, compensation systems, labor shortage, employee retention, department collaboration

Transcript Highlights:

• rather than the current California building code.
• We should get away from California's insane building code.
• code.
• And labor codes, and that the required prevailing wage requirements are being met and enforced.
• We'll require all foreign labor recruiters to register with the labor commissioner, not just those who

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• eligible or not. um that coding makes eligible or not. um that coding makes all<01:16:45.840>
• that would be responsible for coding that would be responsible for coding every<01:28:51.679>
• At that Texas conference, former Texas Governor Rick Perry, many of you have heard of him, could not
• organization in Texas.
• So at that Texas organization in Texas.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• It also fails to address the labor shortage.
• It also fails to address the labor shortage.
• It also fails to address the labor shortage.
• It also fails to address the labor shortage.
• It also fails to address the labor shortage.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas. Mr.
• The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas. Mr.
• The gentleman from Texas. Mr.
• The gentleman from Texas. Mr. Arrington: Mr.
• I yield one minute to the gentleman from Texas.

Keywords: U.S. House of Representatives Floor Proceedings on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, 1012, house, all