Video & Transcript Research : 'sentencing'

Page 13 of 199
FL

Florida 2026 4th Special Session

January 29, 2026 - 03:00 PM

Transcript Highlights:
  • following conviction and remain in custody. without the possibility of release on bond or other pre-sentencing
  • Who might have been released post-conviction prior to sentencing is now being remanded to custody during
  • If the judge adjudicates you guilty at the plea and resets sentencing, then you have to be taken into
  • I see all too often the practice throughout the state that when we give somebody a short sentence like
  • to a mandatory jail sentence.
HI
Transcript Highlights:
  • are no alternative sentences for which the court to reduce the sentence to.
  • guidelines or mandatory sentencing structures when looking at sentence reduction.
  • sentencing enhancement. sentencing enhancement.
  • Let me finish your<01:32:22.560> sentence. your sentence. your sentence.
  • that sentence by crying like a cook? that sentence by crying like a cook?
Keywords: 912, senate, all
Summary: The Judiciary Committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 2246, which would expand public financial disclosure requirements. The State Ethics Commission strongly supported the bill, saying broader disclosure could help restore public trust and potentially deter corruption, and it offered a clarifying amendment to make clear the requirement applies to board and commission members rather than all employees of listed agencies. Several organizations and individuals also testified in support. A committee member asked about the amendment, and the commission explained it was intended as a clarification rather than a substantive change. The committee then took up Senate Bill 2250, which would add homeless facilities to the locations covered by the drug-free-zone offense for promoting controlled substances. The Public Defender opposed the measure, arguing that many homeless facilities are unmarked and not easily identifiable, creating notice, fairness, and due process concerns and risking arbitrary enforcement. The Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office and Honolulu Police Department supported the bill, saying it targets distributors rather than users, that notice can be proven through evidence, and that the law is aimed at protecting vulnerable people in shelters and similar facilities. In questioning, senators asked how homeless facilities would be identified and whether the bill would cover all shelter models; the prosecutor said the definition is cross-referenced in statute and must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii and other groups testified in opposition, while several service and advocacy groups testified in support. Finally, the committee heard Senate Bill 2325, which would allow courts to review and potentially reduce sentences for certain juvenile offenders after 15 years if the person is not a danger to the community. Judiciary staff said the court supports the bill’s intent but noted Hawaii’s indeterminate sentencing structure leaves no alternative sentence for a court to reduce to, suggesting the measure may need structural sentencing changes or could instead be directed to the Hawaii Paroling Authority. Public defender representatives and youth-justice advocates supported the bill, emphasizing rehabilitation, adolescent brain development, trauma, and the need for a meaningful opportunity for release. No votes or final committee actions were taken during the portion of the hearing provided.
CO

Colorado 2026 Regular Session

Colorado Senate 2026 Legislative Day 098 Apr 22nd, 2026

Colorado Senate Floor Meeting

Transcript Highlights:
  • This amendment strengthens sentencing This amendment strengthens sentencing finality<02:32:08.800
  • <02:33:01.840> by strengthen the finality of sentencing by strengthen the finality of sentencing
  • was sentenced in the low end of an F5.
  • was sentenced in the low end of an F5.
  • , it could be a six, it could be somebody was sentenced in the low end of an F5.
Keywords: 981, all
Summary: The Senate met with a quorum present, approved the previous day’s journal, and received several housekeeping notices, including corrected engrossments/enrollments and committee reports. The Committee on Education reported Senate Bill 23, and the Committee on Judiciary reported Senate Bill 149, both amended and referred to Appropriations with favorable recommendation. The chamber also recognized former Representative Lang Sias as a special guest and heard several moments of personal privilege, including introductions of guests connected to the Boulder Boulder race and the Leadership Program of the Rockies. The Senate then took up Senate Resolution 6, designating April 2026 as National Donate Life Month. Supporters highlighted Colorado’s high donor registration rate, the work of Donor Alliance, and personal stories about organ and tissue donation saving lives. The resolution was adopted 34-0, with the current roll call added as co-sponsors. The Senate also adopted Senate Resolution 7, designating April 2026 as Second Chance Month. Proponents emphasized the impact of collateral consequences on people with criminal records, the importance of employment and reentry, and the value of redemption and public safety; the resolution passed 34-0 and the current roll call was added as co-sponsors. Finally, the Senate considered Senate Joint Resolution 23, recognizing Young Americans Bank and the Young Americans Center for Financial Education for their contributions to financial literacy education in Colorado. The resolution cited House Bill 25-1192’s new financial literacy requirements and praised the organizations’ experiential learning model and statewide reach. Senators spoke about Bill Daniels’ legacy and the programs’ impact on students, including testimony that the institutions have served hundreds of thousands of Colorado youth. The resolution was read at length and discussed, but the transcript cuts off before a final vote is shown.
LA

Louisiana 2026 Regular Session

Judiciary C May 19th, 2026

Judiciary C

Transcript Highlights:
  • Basically, the bill will put in alignment how... ...we sentence individuals engaging in strangulation
  • In that context, the current sentencing regime for strangulation, domestic abuse strangulation in Louisiana
  • Stronger sentencing at known escalation points must exist alongside systems that can respond when victims
  • Most of this amendment is from the Ankle Monitoring Association, and Chair Villio added a sentence: a
  • And this bill today seeks to remove the 24-hour delay between conviction and sentence.
Keywords: 974, senate, all
KY
Transcript Highlights:
  • their felony sentence.
  • We also house parole violators and alternative sentencing participants.
  • their felony sentence.
  • their felony sentence.
  • We look toward a felony sentence.
Summary: The committee met for its sixth meeting, established a quorum, and approved the minutes from the October 21 meeting. The main agenda item was a presentation from Kentucky Association of Counties (KACo) leaders and county officials on jail funding and jail-system reform. Speakers said county jail costs have reached crisis levels, citing large and rising general-fund subsidies in counties such as Hardin, McCracken, and Warren, and noting that county general-fund contributions to jail funds have increased by 76% since 2019. KACo outlined a three-part legislative approach for the upcoming session: incentivizing regional jails, clarifying responsibility for pre-trial felony detainees, and redefining the model for housing state inmates in county jails. On regional jails, they proposed one-time state construction funding, statutory changes to allow former county jails to serve as 96-hour holdover facilities, broader participation of jailers on regional jail authority boards, an increased supplement for closed county jails, and a one-time payment for counties that close local jails and join regional facilities. Union County Judge Adam Onan described his county’s savings from contracting with Webster County and said regionalization can reduce costs where feasible. Harlan County Judge Executive Dan Mosley focused on pre-trial felony detainees, saying counties bear the full cost of housing people awaiting trial for long periods, sometimes years, and that pre-trial time is later credited toward state sentences. He argued the state benefits from that credit and referenced prior bills that would have reimbursed counties for time-served credit. Shelley Hampton then proposed replacing the current per diem model for state inmates with contracts requiring the Department of Corrections to pay actual housing costs and to support programming such as substance abuse treatment, cognitive behavioral programming, re-entry services, workforce training, and academics. No votes were taken on the jail proposals, and the meeting ended with the presentation and discussion of the county recommendations.
FL

Florida 2026 5th Special Session

FL House Floor Session - 2025-01-28 (4:30PM Session)

Florida House Floor Meeting

Transcript Highlights:
  • You said it would be sentenced by the court.
  • You said it would be sentenced by the court.
  • As you also know, any case involving a death sentence, or even a potential sentence, has to go through
  • Today, an illegal alien can murder and rape a child and a judge can sentence them to just a prison sentence
  • The court stated, 'We hold this sentencing scheme unconstitutional.'
Summary: The House convened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, approval of the journal, and adoption of the special order calendar for the day. The chamber then took up House Bill 1B on immigration, along with discussion of anticipated Senate changes. The sponsor described the bill as creating a chief immigration officer housed in the Department of Agriculture, establishing an Office of State Immigration Enforcement, expanding cooperation with federal immigration authorities, increasing criminal penalties for certain offenses by unauthorized aliens, ending undocumented-student fee waivers, and providing substantial appropriations for enforcement and related programs. Members also questioned the Senate version’s proposed mandatory death penalty provision for certain capital offenses involving unauthorized aliens, as well as pretrial detention, 287(g) participation, DMV reporting requirements, and the bill’s effects on schools, teachers, social workers, and local agencies. The sponsor and supporting members repeatedly said the bill required broad cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and that existing federal law would control where conflicts arose. A major portion of the debate focused on whether the bill would allow or require immigration enforcement in schools and other sensitive settings, and whether teachers, school resource officers, and social workers could be placed in conflict with federal privacy or professional obligations. Members also raised concerns about detention based on suspected status, the standard of proof for immigration-status determinations, prison and jail impacts, workforce shortages, and the fiscal effects on counties and state agencies. The sponsor said the bill did not provide DMV funding, that the state would need to study some implementation questions, and that the appropriations included $25 million for a local law enforcement participation incentive program and up to $350 million for broader implementation and coordination. Several amendments were offered and failed. Representative Chambliss proposed protecting schools, churches, and places of worship from enforcement activity; Representative Escamani offered amendments to preserve in-state tuition for Dreamers and to grandfather currently eligible students; Representative Woodson offered a similar Dreamer-related amendment; and Representative Bartleman proposed barring local law enforcement from entering schools during school hours to detain children solely for immigration status. Supporters of these amendments argued they would protect children, preserve educational access, and prevent trauma in schools and houses of worship. The House rejected each amendment by voice vote, and the transcript ends during debate on the Bartleman school-safety amendment before final disposition is shown.
NH

New Hampshire 2026 Regular Session

House Criminal Justice and Public Safety (01/15/2026)

Criminal Justice and Public Safety

Transcript Highlights:
  • was sentenced to death. was sentenced to death.
  • sentencing hearing for Michael Addison. sentencing hearing for Michael Addison.
  • death sentence. Um the cost that you death sentence.
  • Those sentences could sentence for that.
  • not change sentencing ranges.
Keywords: 1189, house, all
TX

Texas 89th Regular

Corrections Mar 26th, 2025

Corrections

Transcript Highlights:
  • I feel like we are the ones living a life sentence. in hell.
  • His family and friends are going to live a life sentence of pain. And what is he going to serve?
  • So at this point, we don't know what sentence... He might get.
  • But we don't know what sentence he's going to get, because it hasn't gone to trial.
  • Or they don't actually have to serve their entire sentence? No, they do. No parole. Okay.
KY
Transcript Highlights:
  • <00:09:23.079> second commutes his death sentence second commutes his death sentence second
  • to 23 years in prison prison sentenced to 23 years in prison prison but<00:09:28.440> quickly
  • <00:10:22.079> uh whereby youths were sentenced uh whereby youths were sentenced uh unnecessarily
  • He was on death row when the former governor commuted his sentence, and ultimately he became eligible
  • <00:16:04.079> she less than 18 months of his sentence she less than 18 months of his sentence
Summary: The House Standing Committee on Elections, Constitutional Amendments & Intergovernmental Affairs met with a quorum, recognized a student page from Covington Catholic High School, and then took up House Concurrent Resolution 67, sponsored by Representative Emily Callaway. The resolution would create a Kentucky Restoration of Voting Rights Act task force to study restoration of civil and voting rights for people who have served their sentences and shown rehabilitation. Callaway said the task force would include legislators and representatives from state offices and advocacy groups, and she noted the issue should receive serious attention as part of civic participation and reentry. Members asked about differences between the House resolution and a similar Senate measure. Callaway explained that her version was more specific about membership and included state agency representatives and advocacy organizations. Representative Blacket said he preferred the House version and noted expungement had also been discussed. Representative Marzian said she would vote no, arguing the Secretary of State already handles election integrity and that the proposal was unnecessary and costly. Representative Roberts supported the resolution, saying the current process for restoring voting rights can be expensive and lengthy. The resolution passed with favorable consideration. The committee then heard discussion-only testimony on Senate Bill 126 from Senator Chris McDaniel, a proposed constitutional amendment to limit the governor’s pardon power. McDaniel argued the power has been abused and said the amendment would not eliminate pardons, but would restrict them to the 60 days before an election and the period between the gubernatorial election and inauguration so voters could weigh in. He cited high-profile pardons and commutations as examples and said the measure had previously been supported by law enforcement groups. Representative Lockard and another member expressed support, saying pardon power can be undemocratic and that the timing of mass pardons after elections is troubling. McDaniel said the 60-day window was chosen as a practical period for information to reach voters. No vote was taken on the bill, and the meeting adjourned after a visiting district judge was recognized.
FL
Transcript Highlights:
  • That would be the sentencing scheme on that.
  • cases if a circuit court fails to follow proper sentencing procedures.
  • To specify that if capital sentence procedures are held unconstitutional by the Florida or U.S.
  • Supreme Court, the defendant must be sentenced to life in prison. What is the bill?
  • It permits consecutive sentencing for convictions.
Keywords: 999, senate, all
LA

Louisiana 2026 Regular Session

Judiciary C May 19th, 2026

Judiciary C

Transcript Highlights:
  • Basically, the bill will put in alignment how we sentence individuals engaging in strangulation.
  • In that context, the current sentencing regime for strangulation of domestic abuse strangulation in Louisiana
  • Stronger sentencing at known escalation points must exist alongside systems that can respond when victims
  • Stronger sentencing at known escalation points must exist alongside systems that can respond when victims
  • “And this bill today seeks to remove the 24-hour delay between conviction and sentence.
Summary: The Senate Committee on Judiciary C met on May 19, 2026, with a quorum present and first deferred House Bill 276 at the sponsor’s request. The committee then heard and advanced several bills, largely focused on criminal justice, domestic violence, victims’ rights, probation/parole, and critical infrastructure protections. HB 160, by Rep. Knox, would increase the penalty for domestic abuse battery and battery of a dating partner involving strangulation from three to six years, with at least one year without probation or suspension; it drew strong support from prosecutors and domestic violence advocates and was reported favorably. HB 769, by Rep. Boyd, would create a 24- to 72-hour cooling-off hold in domestic violence cases, with an amendment to make the hold concurrent with other detention periods and to avoid stacking with existing law; it was reported with amendments. The committee also reported favorably HB 1234, which creates mandatory jail time for fleeing the scene after striking a person and failing to render aid, and HB 158, which restores custodial inpatient treatment as an option for probationers and increases the allowable treatment period from 90 to 180 days. HB 169, allowing courts or the parole board to assess extradition costs against absconders based on ability to pay, was also reported favorably. HB 251, requiring notice to a victim or designated family member before resentencing or final conviction hearings, drew support from the Attorney General’s office and opposition from the ACLU, which argued that victim involvement at that stage could be inconsistent with post-conviction standards; it was nevertheless reported favorably. Additional measures advanced included HB 289, which removes a redundant 24-hour delay between denial of a new trial motion and sentencing; HB 394, extending the conditional parole period from nine months to 24 months to allow completion of required programming; and HB 330, increasing penalties and restitution for vandalizing churches and graves, which was supported by the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops. HB 429, expanding critical infrastructure protections to oil and natural gas facilities and related operations and increasing penalties for unauthorized entry, drone activity, and cyber interference, was reported with amendments after discussion about harmonizing the definition with another bill and ensuring coverage of water-related facilities. The committee also approved the minutes from the prior meeting before adjourning.
NH
Transcript Highlights:
  • I would delete that first sentence altogether.
  • Yeah, the first red sentence, and that kind of matches up with the letter that we received from Mr.
  • Yeah, and it's with the red, so we would delete that first sentence in red. Mhm.
  • Could say additional expenses including but not limited to utilities and... sentence and that kind of
  • <00:09:53.880> in sentence in sentence in red red red mhm<00:09:58.880> yeah<00:09:59.079
Keywords: 928, house, all
Summary: The subcommittee discussed HB 694, focusing on how to set fair market rates for lease renewals involving state agencies and political subdivisions. Members and the New Hampshire Association of Counties worked through draft language defining fair market value, including how appraisals, depreciation, and building deficiencies should be considered. Testimony emphasized that market value and appraised value can differ significantly, and that the bill should allow flexibility rather than require a rigid formula. The group also debated what expenses should be included in lease terms. After discussion of examples such as utilities, custodial services, insurance, maintenance, and newer needs like communications or internet service, members agreed not to create an overly specific list. They settled on language stating that additional expenses, including but not limited to utilities and custodial services, would be negotiated separately. The final amendment was revised to apply to lease renewals for land, buildings, or space between a political subdivision and the State of New Hampshire, with renewals at fair market rate unless otherwise agreed by the lessor. The subcommittee agreed to have the amendment drafted at OLS and then closed the public subcommittee meeting on HB 694.
CA

California 2025-2026 Regular Session

Assembly Appropriations Committee Apr 23rd, 2025

Transcript Highlights:
  • Under existing law, individuals with an indeterminate life sentence can earn credits for good conduct
  • Furthermore, individuals with indeterminate sentences who are approved for parole have exhibited the
  • Furthermore, individuals with indeterminate sentences who are approved for parole have exhibited the
  • It's my understanding that in this bill, using indeterminate sentences—so life-in-prison sentences—are
  • So in each case, the court said the person was sentenced to seven to life or 25 to life.
Summary: The Assembly Appropriations Committee met on April 23, 2025, with a large regular-order agenda and first approved a consent calendar covering many bills. Several measures were then heard individually, with most receiving support from sponsors and stakeholder groups and no formal opposition in the room, though some bills drew respectful opposition or no votes. The committee also read and deemed approved a lengthy suspense calendar before taking up additional bills and public comment. Among the bills discussed, AB 263 would extend temporary flow regulations on the Smith and Shasta Rivers for five years or until permanent rules are completed; AB 309 would remove the sunset on pharmacists’ ability to provide sterile syringes without a prescription to support HIV and hepatitis prevention; AB 631 would require animal shelters to post intake and outcome data online; AB 792 would allow consolidation of bargaining for court interpreters; AB 867 would ban cat declawing except when medically necessary; AB 1206 would require pre-approved housing plans for small residential projects; AB 787 would require health plans to better help patients find in-network providers; AB 596 would protect workers’ right to wear face coverings unless unsafe; AB 282 would allow housing providers to prefer voucher holders without violating source-of-income discrimination law; AB 738 would create a limited rebuilding exemption for disaster survivors from newer solar requirements; AB 566 would require browsers and mobile operating systems to make global privacy opt-outs easier; and AB 622 would clarify CDCR’s authority to award credits to people serving indeterminate sentences who complete rehabilitation programming. Most of these bills were reported out on roll calls, often with bipartisan or limited dissent. AB 309, AB 631, AB 792, AB 867, AB 1206, AB 787, AB 596, AB 282, AB 738, AB 566, and AB 622 all advanced, while AB 263 also moved forward despite opposition from the Siskiyou Board of Supervisors and the California Farm Bureau. AB 622 generated the most extensive debate, with supporters emphasizing rehabilitation, parole-board review, and cost savings, and opponents warning about public safety and the impact on serious violent offenders. The meeting ended after brief public comment on several other bills on the suspense file and then adjournment.
US

US Federal 2025-2026 Regular Session

US House Floor Proceedings (Tuesday, September 16, 2025)

US Federal House Floor Meeting

Transcript Highlights:
  • THEY WERE SENTENCED TO ONLY THREE YEARS OF SECURE DETENTION.
  • Its purpose is simple: to give judges discretion in sentencing young adults.
  • Judges, not politicians, should decide sentences.
  • In nearly 80% of cases, judges impose a mandatory minimum sentence anyway.
  • SLAPPED WITH LENIENT SENTENCES BELOW MANDATORY MINIMUMS.
FL

Florida 2025 Regular Session

Criminal Justice Apr 1st, 2025

Transcript Highlights:
  • Case of the circuit court feels fails to follow proper sentencing procedures.
  • The defendant must be re-sentenced to life in prison.
  • And they personally believe that actually a life sentence in prison.
  • I disagree a life sentence in prison. That stuff. Maybe the death penalty is the easy way out.
  • There's also a life sentence for the young boy or girl.
Keywords: 999, senate, all
HI

Hawaii 2026 Regular Session

JHA Public Hearing - Wed Mar 18, 2026 @ 2:00 PM HST

Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs

Transcript Highlights:
  • . sentencing. sentencing.
  • less than a year's sentence. less than a year's sentence. Thank<01:41:18.320> you.
  • ordering of the sentence by the court. ordering of the sentence by the court.
  • So, in sentence up to a year.
  • sentence them to 1 year or more, right? sentence them to 1 year or more, right?
Keywords: 910, house, all
Summary: The committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 3123, which would treat free tuition or school-conditioned enrollment at private educational institutions as a conditional gift rather than a contractual obligation unless otherwise agreed in writing. The Office of the Governor supported the bill, and Kamehameha Schools and the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools strongly backed it, saying it would protect donor intent, preserve school-ohana relationships, and help maintain tuition assistance and educational access for families. A committee member commented favorably on the unity among school organizations, and there were no objections raised before the committee moved on. The committee then took up Senate Bill 2438, which creates a civil cause of action for interference with constitutional and statutory rights through threats, intimidation, or coercion, with private and government enforcement options and protections for constitutionally protected speech. Testifiers from the Community Alliance on Prisons and a know-your-rights educator supported the measure as a civil rights protection grounded in the Hawaii Constitution. No opposition testimony was presented during the hearing, and the measure appeared to receive general support from those who testified. Finally, the committee heard Senate Bill 3142, which establishes offenses for dangerous and habitual dangerous intoxication and allows civil protective custody and emergency examination in lieu of arrest in certain cases. The Attorney General, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Department of Health, and Department of Human Services supported the bill as a treatment-oriented diversion tool for people who are dangerously intoxicated and at risk to themselves or the public. The Office of the Public Defender opposed the measure, warning it could expand police discretion, burden emergency rooms, and function as a loss of liberty without sufficient treatment resources, while committee members questioned whether the bill would simply cycle people through emergency rooms and back onto the street. No vote or final action was taken in the portion provided; the chair said decision-making would occur at the end of the agenda.
NM

New Mexico 2025 Regular Session

Senate - Judiciary Mar 19th, 2025

Senate Judiciary

Transcript Highlights:
  • House Bill 255 was originally drafted by the Sentencing Commission, unanimously supported by the Sentencing
  • And it also does some cleanup language, in particular with regards to sentencing.
  • Madam Chair, on the amendment, I heard from the Sentencing Commission.
  • Commission was by an individual of the Sentencing Commission, not by the Sentencing Commission as a
  • In any event, the motion for us to strike that sentence. Is there any objection?
AZ

Arizona 2026 Regular Session

07/08/2026 - Legislative Council

Transcript Highlights:
  • That’s the second sentence of G.
  • That’s the second sentence of G.
  • You know that because in the first sentence of subsection G, or the first sentence of paragraph 7 for
  • So the first sentence is about school district employees, but the second sentence, it isn’t silent on
  • The first sentence withstands an entire article here, and the second sentence blows up the constitutional
Keywords: 1182, all
TX

Texas 89th 2nd C.S.

Criminal Jurisprudence Apr 15th, 2025

Criminal Jurisprudence

Transcript Highlights:
  • Little: Read the next sentence. Alan Place: I understand.
  • sentenced are now in their 40s.
  • The fact that the average life expectancy of a child sentenced to such extreme sentences is just 56 years
  • old means that these sentences are practically death sentences, and giving death sentences to children
  • I'll also add that the United States Sentencing Commission defines a de facto life sentence as 40 years
Bills: HB200
TX

Texas 89th Regular

State Affairs May 19th, 2025

State Affairs

Transcript Highlights:
  • And you'd be surprised how if you sentence someone, and you don't have to sentence them to a long amount
  • And you'd be surprised how, if you sentence someone, and you don't have to sentence them to a long amount
  • They have to sentence you to jail. Okay. Does the...
  • them, and then probate the sentence, and they give them probation every time.
  • Exactly, because you can sentence someone for up to six months in jail.
Bills: HB46, HB272
Summary: The Senate Committee on State Affairs heard several House bills and took no final votes, leaving each bill pending after testimony. HB 272 would align venue and evidentiary rules for fraudulent use or possession of credit/debit card information with existing credit card abuse law; the sponsor said it would improve prosecutions, and the Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center supported it. HB 1661 would increase penalties for certain election-related offenses, including failure to distribute election supplies and early release of election results; no substantive opposition was heard. HB 551 would protect the residential addresses of people who receive campaign expenditures on public Texas Ethics Commission reports, similar to donor privacy protections, and a witness from Texas Eagle Forum later indicated support for the privacy change. The committee also heard HB 2820, which would raise the amount charitable bingo organizations may keep in operating capital from $50,000 to $100,000. The sponsor and a Texans for Charitable Bingo representative said inflation and operating costs have made the current cap too low and that the bill would help charities maintain stable operations without expanding gaming. HB 3181 would impose stronger consequences for repeated denial of court-ordered child possession and access, including limiting probation and requiring attorney’s fees after multiple contempt findings; a family court judge and a parent testified in support, while another witness argued the bill should be paired with stronger criminal enforcement and that parents already face high costs. HB 4157 would update Texas law for commercial spaceflight by recognizing liability waivers and preserving workers’ compensation rights; no one testified against it. The committee also heard HB 4145, which would let health care providers satisfy a timely billing requirement by sending bills to a patient’s legal representative in a personal injury case, closing what supporters described as a loophole in letter-of-protection situations. Finally, HB 46, relating to the Texas Compassionate Use Program, drew the most extensive discussion: supporters said it should expand access for legitimate medical cannabis patients and add more delivery methods and conditions, while opponents warned against broader marijuana expansion and questioned adding chronic pain and other conditions. The sponsor said he still supports the program and wants a balanced, regulated expansion, but noted the bill is still being worked on. All bills were left pending at the close of the hearing.