Transcript Highlights:

• smoke evacuation system policy at certain health care facility for the committee on public health a 3 5
• regarding student use of personal electronic devices refer to the committee on public education HB 5
• systems and unincorporated areas of certain counties refer to the committee on natural resources HB 5
• Relating to the required proof of the lawful presence in the United States for the issuance of a driver's
• , rescinding the automatic recession of certain applications made by the Texas Legislature to the United

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Title 5, Chapter 542A, Section 542.03, Notice Required, provides that pre-suit notice is required before
• We support legislation like this throughout the United States.
• It only requires approval if they go beyond that 5%.
• The property casualty industry here in the United States is doing very well.
• And my suite in 4 South 5.

Bills: HB854, HB 1052, HB1642, HB2076, HB3042, HB3695, HB3787, HB4062, HB4092, SB213, SB493, SB896, HB5519, HB4635

Keywords: insurance, replacement cost, homeowner's policy, renter's policy, condominium insurance, property damage, claims process, telemedicine, teledentistry, telehealth, health benefit plan, insurance coverage, out-of-state services, anxiety, pain management, contraceptive devices, women's health, medical procedures, healthcare, laboratory

Transcript Highlights:

• News and World Report named McAllen one of the top 50 best places to live in the United States and the
• And I will tell you that what makes McAllen great is that after every election, all the candidates unite
• Laredo and Webb County are so important, number one port of entry in the United States and for commerce
• in the United States.
• Its 5-mile radius is home to over 234,000 people and over 7,700 businesses with over 1,000 employees.

Summary: The Texas Senate convened with a quorum, heard the governor’s emergency message outlining priority issues for the session, including property tax relief, water supply and infrastructure funding, universal education savings accounts, teacher pay, career and technical education, creation of a Texas Cyber Command, and bail reform. The governor also submitted a State of the State message and several appointment nominations for Senate confirmation. The chamber then took up a series of ceremonial resolutions and recognitions for McAllen Day, UTSA and UT Health San Antonio Day, Wise County Day, and Houston East End Chamber of Commerce East End Day, along with visits from the Houston Realty Business Coalition, Cedar Creek Chamber of Commerce, Webb County/Laredo delegates, UT Dallas McDermott Scholars, Andrews County officials, and occupational therapy professionals and students. Several senators spoke in support of the recognitions, highlighting local economic development, higher education, public health, and regional history. McAllen was praised for its growth, business climate, and cultural significance; Laredo and Webb County were recognized for trade, the Washington’s Birthday Celebration, and cross-border ties; UTSA and UT Health were commended for research, cybersecurity, and health science work; and UT Dallas scholars were recognized for academic achievement and public service. Wise County, the East End of Houston, and Andrews County were also described in terms of their economic contributions and community heritage. The Senate adopted Senate Resolution 27 for McAllen Day and Senate Resolution 32 for UTSA and UT Health San Antonio Day without objection. It also adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 11, which granted permission for either house to adjourn for more than three days between February 5 and February 11, by a recorded vote of 30 ayes and 0 nays. Additional resolutions listed on the calendar were adopted without objection, and the Senate recessed until noon on Wednesday, February 5.

Transcript Highlights:

• , enrollment growth units for fiscal year 27. ...generating online units, enrollment growth units for
• Chair, Senator, yes, that is how the unit value is determined.
• So you can see $5 million for child care assistance.
• In FY25, you gave us $5 million in growth funds.
• That family unit holds value.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• United States of America. Over 50,000 students are part of this organization.
• Time specific. 5:25, Mr. President. Thank you, Senator Bettencourt.
• Senator Bettencourt, just to clarify, did you say 5:31?
• Senator Bettencourt, just to clarify, did you say 5:31? Mr.
• It's 5:31. Thank you, Senator Bettencourt.

Bills: SJR12, SJR81, SCR39, SB22, SB32, SB241, SB393, SB414, SB458, SB464, SB568, SB583, SB609, SB660, SB693, SB731, SB732, SB746, SB783, SB785, SB897, SB993, SB996, SB1008, SB1029, SB1035, SB1036, SB1120, SB1122, SB1147, SB1163, SB1188, SB1197, SB1209, SB1227, SB1245, SB1267, SB1307, SB1321, SB1332, SB1386, SB1394, SB1396, SB1470, SB1494, SB1537, SB1596, SB1598, SB1610, SB1664, SB1814, SB1822, SB1841, SB1948, SB2065, SB2155, SB2406, SB2407

Keywords: parental rights, education, constitutional amendment, school choice, child education, tax exemption, ad valorem, tangible personal property, income production, border security, southern border, federal immigration policy, illegal immigration, cartels, transnational cartels, fentanyl, drug trafficking, human trafficking, Operation Lone Star, Texas border

Summary: The Senate opened with a quorum call, invocation, approval of routine motions, and the reading of gubernatorial nominations and several honorary resolutions. The chamber adopted resolutions recognizing Jack and Jill of America Day and DJ Daniel Day at the Capitol, with multiple senators offering remarks praising youth leadership, perseverance, and public service. The Senate also introduced the Doctor of the Day and then proceeded to a long series of floor actions on bills. A major focus was Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 568, which overhauls special education funding and services in public schools by moving from a placement-based model to an intensity-based system tied to student needs and IEPs. Senators Bettencourt, Creighton, and Menendez emphasized transparency, parent input, evaluation funding, dyslexia services, and better alignment of funding with actual services; Senator Hinojosa shared a personal story about dyslexia and the importance of early intervention. The bill was advanced on second and third reading and finally passed 30-0. The Senate also passed SB 1396 to prohibit national sex education standards in public schools, SB 2065 on the Texas Emergency Services Retirement System, SB 1664 requiring clearer public disclosure of transmission and distribution utility rate changes, SB 1029 on advertising certain used motor vehicles, SB 1120 expanding rights for family violence victims, SB 1036 regulating residential solar retail transactions, SB 464 creating school-proximity restrictions and penalties for tobacco and vaping sales, SB 1035 giving farmers and ranchers equitable relief from certain local agricultural regulations, SB 1610 addressing civil commitment facility safety and prosecution issues, SB 1197 extending drone restrictions to spaceports, and SB 1386 changing legislative witness immunity from transactional to testimonial immunity. Another major bill was Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 1188, which updates electronic health record requirements. Senator Kolkhorst said the bill builds on Texas medical privacy law by requiring U.S.-based storage of EMR data, prohibiting recording of voter registration status and credit score information, requiring provider verification and disclosure for AI-assisted diagnosis or treatment recommendations, preserving parental access to minors’ records until age 18, and ensuring EMRs can capture metabolic health and biological sex information. A floor amendment clarified the bill’s scope and enforcement, and the bill passed 23-7. Several measures drew debate, especially SB 414 on bond ballot transparency, where Senators Eckhardt and Menendez questioned whether requiring estimated interest and total debt cost on ballots could be misleading or difficult to implement because interest rates and financing terms can change before issuance or over time. The transcript ends during that discussion, with no final action shown on SB 414.

Transcript Highlights:

• So it would be about a 5% increase every year versus 10.
• And to show you that over a period of 5 years, in 2019, a fire truck cost $550,000.
• I bought my home 5 years ago. My neighbor, she's lived in her home 30 plus years.
• Their annual budget is only 5 million dollars.
• The 5 of us sat down and figured it out.

Transcript Highlights:

• There would also be a change on page 5, line 26.
• So on page 5, line 26, change registrar to chief deputy.
• Seeing no objection, SCR 5 will be reported favorable.
• SCR 5 by Senator Mizell establishes the Louisiana-Ireland Trade Commission.
• Seeing no objection, SCR 5 will be reported favorable. Thank you.

Summary: The committee first heard Senate Bill 319, which would tighten and standardize voter identification rules at polling places. Senator Presley and Secretary of State Nancy Landry said the bill replaces the current “generally recognized” photo ID standard with a specific list of acceptable IDs, removes the affidavit-only option, and allows voters without a photo ID to cast a conditional paper ballot at the registrar of voters office or during early voting if they later provide approved documentation within two days after the election. Supporters argued the bill improves consistency, election integrity, and poll-worker guidance while still preserving access through alternative documents and free state IDs; opponents warned it could create confusion and burden seniors, students, homeless voters, and others without easy access to the required documents. After debate, the committee reported SB 319 favorably by a 7-2 vote. The committee then approved Senate Bill 202, which adds one day of compensated meeting time for parish boards of election supervisors in certain elections, and Senate Bill 25, which revises the compensation schedule for registrars of voters and related staff. SB 25 was amended to remove outdated step references and make conforming technical changes, and supporters said the pay structure has not been updated since 2007 despite increased duties and workload. The committee also adopted and reported favorably Senate Concurrent Resolution 29, creating a legislative study committee on water quality in the Chafalalaya Basin, and House Concurrent Resolution 85, creating a task force on illegal dumping, both with technical amendments. In addition, the committee advanced Senate Concurrent Resolution 63, which asks the legislative auditor to review how fiscal notes are prepared during session, and Senate Concurrent Resolution 33, which creates a work-based learning coordination task force to improve alignment among education, workforce, and employer partners. SCR 33 was amended to change the appointing authority for two members. The committee also approved Senate Concurrent Resolution 5, establishing the Louisiana-Ireland Trade Commission, and House Resolution 196, which creates a study committee on the impact of fallen trees on residential property and insurance issues. Several of these measures were supported by agency representatives or outside groups, and the committee adopted technical amendments where needed before reporting the bills and resolutions favorably.

Transcript Highlights:

• For two bedroom unit, the median $1,700.
• So where housing units or 5,000 people.
• Restriction on whether any dwelling unit is constructed on or off site.
• <01:28:02.880> already at accessory dwelling units already at accessory dwelling units already
• The United States Supreme Court right.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• This is 5% pay raises for Department of Corrections employees.
• Why would they need a 5% increase then? Mr. Chair, Senator Cooby, inflation maybe, I don’t know.
• I served in the United States Marine Corps.
• The bill requires a budget unit to eliminate any positions within the budget unit that have been vacant
• So, members, you know, the business units within state government have been very clear.

Bills: SB1001, SB1035, SB1056, SB1065, SB1138, SB1161, SB1204, SB1207, SB1248, SB1274, SB1284, SCM1002, SCM1006, SCR1020

Keywords: appropriation, economic security, blind individuals, older adults, state funding, Arizona Department of Corrections, ADC, corrections, prison, jail, correctional officers, prison guards, staffing, retention, salary increase, pay raise, wage increase, general fund, state budget, private prisons

Transcript Highlights:

• Locally, we have David Arawa from the community relations at the Hawaii United Okinawan Association,
• session hire for longtime friend and uh session hire for The<00:01:36.520> Last<00:01:36.840> 5<
• 39.040> and<00:01:39.240> we<00:01:39.439> thank<00:01:39.600> you The Last 5
• Years M aing and we thank you The Last 5 Years M aing and we thank you for<00:01:39.920> the<00
• the Hawaii United Okinawan Association as<00:02:43.680> well<00:02:43.840> as<00:02:43.959

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• To the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under
• HCR number 5 by Leach, inviting the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas to address a joint session
• The question occurs in the adoption of H.C.R. 5.
• Born in Ghana, Annette's family immigrated to the United States when she was two years old. and Child
• Incorporated in 1856, Athens is a true treasure of the United States.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And this unit, with a budget of roughly about $5 million per year, has won over $53 million in civil
• And this unit, with a budget of roughly about $5 million per year, has won over $53 million in civil
• with a budget of roughly about this unit with a budget of roughly about $5<02:30:32.560> million
• from 8:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. And um you from 8:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Monday, May 5, 2025.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• What I'm going to do is start with slide 5 and talk a little bit about our agency.
• Within that unit, a financial crimes unit that does money laundering, tax fraud, business fraud, which
• cash prizes over $5.
• It'd be 2%, 5%, that range of the numbers of combinations.
• Did they get that 5% commission? Yes, representative.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• >> I pledge to the flag of the United >> I pledge to the flag of the United States<00
• will<00:08:39.360> pick<00:08:39.599> that<00:08:39.839> up<00:08:40.399> 5<
• 00:08:40.640> minutes<00:08:40.880> or<00:08:41.039> so uh we will pick that up 5
• minutes or so uh we will pick that up 5 minutes or so after<00:08:41.519> the<00:08:41.680>
• Thanks. >> Senator from Windham. >> Senate Judiciary will need 5 minutes after the training. >> Senator

Keywords: 927, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Section 5 also establishes specific Section 5 also establishes specific procedures<00:13:44.600> and
• 8, Sections 5 through 8, Sections<01:07:39.000> 5<01:07:39.320> through<01:07:39.520><
• was 5-0-0. was 5-0-0.
• How many units of housing have we built? What is the cost per unit for different types of housing?
• entirely on the actual number of units entirely on the actual number of units of<02:50:34.960>

Keywords: 927, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• 00, and 230 calls from 5:00 to 6:00.
• The Code Red went out at 5:01.
• It says it's effective till 5 a.m.
• It says it's effective till 5 a.m.
• And dirt is moving now, which includes a 16-bed adult crisis unit and a 16-bed kids unit and an integrated

Summary: The joint Senate and House disaster preparedness hearing convened in Kerrville with quorum, public testimony limited to three minutes and invited testimony to 10 minutes. Leaders from both chambers, along with the lieutenant governor and speaker, framed the hearing as an unprecedented joint effort focused on learning from the July 4 flood, honoring victims, and identifying actions to reduce future loss of life. The committee also heard opening remarks about decorum, logistics, and the intent to continue work in future sessions. The first panel included Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, Sheriff Larry Leitha, Emergency Management Coordinator William B. Thomas IV, Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring Jr., Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice, Upper Guadalupe River Authority representative William Rector, Kendall County Judge Shane Stolarczyk, and Real County Judge Bella Rubio. They described the flood as sudden and catastrophic, with Kerr County reporting 108 deaths and two missing. Local officials emphasized that they received no timely warning of the scale of the event, that responders and volunteers acted heroically under extreme conditions, and that communications, cell coverage, and rural emergency resources were strained. Several witnesses said the county’s existing alert systems were limited by geography, sparse broadband, and the speed of the flood. Testimony focused on possible improvements, including real-time flood gauges and predictive monitoring, stronger rural emergency management staffing and training, better interoperability and alerting tools such as IPAWS, CodeRED, WENS, and sirens, and expanded broadband and radio coverage. Kerrville asked for a flood warning system before next summer and state help for stormwater, floodplain, and disaster recovery funding. UGRA described its past and current flood-warning and mitigation efforts, including gauge funding, a new software-based flood prediction project, and consideration of additional retention dams. Kendall and Real counties highlighted successful or needed alerting and evacuation practices, while also stressing the difficulty of funding and maintaining such systems in small rural counties. Members asked detailed questions about the timeline of the flood response, low-water crossings, communications failures, sirens, bridges, and whether regional consolidation or additional infrastructure could improve future preparedness.

Transcript Highlights:

• Floor Amendment No. 5 by West.
• Members, Senator West moves adoption of Floor Amendment No. 5.
• Hearing and seeing none, Floor Amendment No. 5 is adopted.
• Or a 5% threshold, whereas Delaware is more permissive.
• Current law allows a taxing unit to levy an INS tax rate in addition to an M&O tax rate.

Bills: SJR12, SCR39, SB27, SB29, SB241, SB406, SB414, SB464, SB568, SB578, SB609, SB660, SB689, SB693, SB785, SB857, SB879, SB921, SB922, SB955, SB985, SB993, SB996, SB1008, SB1035, SB1036, SB1059, SB1098, SB1120, SB1122, SB1147, SB1188, SB1197, SB1209, SB1227, SB1245, SB1267, SB1307, SB1321, SB1332, SB1386, SB1396, SB1453, SB1484, SB1494, SB1536, SB1537, SB1596, SB1610, SB1664, SB1741, SB1814, SB1822, SB1841, SB1948, SB2065, SB2155, SB2188, SB2230, SB2406, SB2407

Keywords: parental rights, education, constitutional amendment, school choice, child education, border security, southern border, federal immigration policy, illegal immigration, cartels, transnational cartels, fentanyl, drug trafficking, human trafficking, Operation Lone Star, Texas border, National Guard, state guard, border wall, border barriers

Summary: The Senate convened with a quorum present, heard an invocation, and approved the previous day’s journal. The chamber then adopted Senate Resolution 358 honoring the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on its 10th anniversary, with senators highlighting the university’s growth, medical school, research expansion, and role in serving South Texas. The Senate also adopted Senate Resolution 368 honoring outgoing Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp, with numerous senators praising his long public career, leadership in higher education, and statewide impact. Senate Resolution 361 recognizing Texas HBCU Day and Senate Resolution 362 recognizing Denton County Days at the Capitol were also adopted, along with other routine recognitions and gubernatorial appointments being read into the record. The Senate then took up several bills. Committee Substitute Senate Bill 27, relating to rights and support for public school educators, was debated and amended to shorten vacancy posting requirements, allow bilingual certification candidates to retake only failed test sections, give teachers more flexibility with paid leave, clarify classroom removal procedures, and ensure parents are informed of appeal rights. The bill passed to engrossment, the three-day rule was suspended, and it was finally passed unanimously. Senate Joint Resolution 12, proposing a constitutional amendment to establish a parent’s right to direct a child’s education, was also brought up and passed to engrossment after a contested suspension vote. The Senate next passed Committee Substitute Senate Bill 1741, which would require reporting of foreign funding at public universities, bar gifts from adversarial governments, and require training and reporting systems to prevent foreign influence and intellectual property theft in higher education. Committee Substitute Senate Bill 29, the so-called “Dexit” bill, was debated at length for its corporate governance changes, including codifying the business judgment rule and altering internal corporate litigation and records rules; it passed to engrossment, the three-day rule was suspended, and it was finally passed by a 30-1 vote. Senate Bill 857, allowing law enforcement discretion to tow vehicles driven by unlicensed or uninsured drivers, passed after discussion of towing abuses during flooding and disaster conditions. Committee Substitute Senate Bill 1536, requiring dementia and Alzheimer’s training for certain guardians, passed with broad support, and Senate Bill 922, addressing delayed electronic disclosure of sensitive medical test results so physicians can discuss them first, was taken up and passed to engrossment as the chamber continued through its calendar.

Transcript Highlights:

• Okay, one mill generates less than $5 million. One mill generates less than $5 million.
• United States from a tax perspective?
• That's $300,000 divided by $1,000 to give us the number of units.
• That's a $300,000 divided by $1,000 to give us the number of units.
• At that point, the definition shifted from being the 3-mill to $5 million.

Summary: The Select Committee on Property Taxes met for an educational session focused on how Florida funds public schools and how property taxes are assessed and levied. Dr. Jim Zengali of the Department of Revenue explained the FEFP school funding formula, noting that it is built on weighted student counts, a base student allocation, and programmatic add-ons such as transportation, exceptional student education, school safety, and mental health. He said school funding is roughly split between state general revenue and local property taxes through required local effort, with additional discretionary and capital outlay millages contributing to total school funding. He also described the Department of Revenue’s role in certifying property rolls at fair market value and reviewing them for substantial compliance, including the so-called “nuclear option” if a roll is not approved. Members asked about trends in millage rates, county-by-county funding differences, the effect of growth and enrollment changes, and how property appraisals are reviewed. Zengali said aggregate millage for school funding has declined over the last decade while revenues have still increased, and he agreed to provide additional data on county trends, parcel strata, student growth, and enrollment impacts. He also clarified that school funding is equalized so students receive similar resources regardless of county wealth, and that federal funding plays only a small role in the FEFP. Amy Baker of the Joint Legislative Office of Economic and Demographic Research then discussed existing homestead benefits. She said about half of Florida’s parcels are homestead properties, most fall in the $250,000 to $500,000 value range, and many seniors without mortgages pay property taxes in lump sums rather than through escrow. Baker explained that Florida’s homestead tax burden is middle-of-the-pack nationally and that the main benefits are Save Our Homes and portability on the differential side, plus the $25,000 homestead exemption and related exemptions on the exemption side. She said these benefits reduce taxable value substantially, with homestead properties receiving a large share of the reductions, and noted that the committee requested follow-up data on exemption usage, portability timing, senior exemptions, and county-level patterns. The final presentation, by Lizette Kelly of the Department of Revenue, covered millage rates and the TRIM process. She reviewed the history of truth-in-millage notices, required taxpayer mailings, public hearing notices, and later changes that tied local millage resets to rollback and majority-vote rates. Kelly explained the difference between proposed and adopted millage, the rollback rate, and the majority-vote rate, and described how taxing authorities include counties, cities, special districts, and MSTUs. She also outlined how county taxable value is calculated from just value through assessment differentials and exemptions, and how certain exemptions, such as the additional senior exemption, apply only to the taxing authority that adopted them. No votes were taken during the meeting, but members requested several follow-up data reports for later discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• These are all bed rates, not unit rates. But how do you come up with the unit rate?
• These are all bed rates, not unit rates. But how do you come up with the unit rate?
• Initially, about $5 million, and then the governor allocation of an additional $5 million.
• restriction every year the thing is 5%. restriction every year the thing is 5%.
• of the 5% if and only if you use that 5% of the 5% if and only if you use that 5% to<02:20:59.439

Keywords: 912, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So that from 17% goes down to right around 5% of our overall program funding.
• <00:37:02.720> materials, creation of the mass unit materials, creation of the mass unit materials
• We come where that mass unit come in.
• 5 in poverty in that county.
• They're only allowed 5% >> Yeah. They're only allowed 5% administrative<01:32:28.480> cost.

Keywords: Meeting Start 00:00:00 Attendance Roll Call 00:00:07 Chair Comments 00:00:36 Approval of Minutes 00:04:01 Volunteers of America 00:04:21 Soil and Water Conservation/Energy and Environment Cabinet 00:14:52 Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy/Justice & Public Safety Cabinet 00:21:05 Kentucky Department of Agriculture 00:26:01 Early Childhood Advisory Council 00:45:18, 958, all

Summary: The Tobacco Settlement Agreement Fund Oversight Committee met to review how tobacco settlement dollars are being used and to press recipients for detailed information on total funding, administrative versus program spending, and measurable outcomes. The chair emphasized that the committee was not there for general program overviews, but to assess return on investment and whether each program should continue to receive tobacco settlement support. The committee approved the minutes from its December 22, 2025 meeting and then heard presentations from several agencies and organizations. Volunteers of America Mid-States described its southeastern Kentucky restorative justice program, which uses an evidence-based New Zealand model for juvenile cases in nine counties. The group reported tobacco settlement funding of $516,000 in FY24 and $233,500 in FY25, representing about 17% and then about 5% of the program budget, respectively. It said the funding helped expand the program from 13 cases in 2021 to 180 youth served, and cited an independent evaluation showing recidivism of 24.5% compared with 40.4% in AOC data, along with a cost of a little under $20 per day versus detention and other placements. Some members questioned whether the program fit the tobacco settlement funding categories and suggested it might be better supported through other justice-related funding sources. The Energy and Environment Cabinet’s Division of Conservation explained that tobacco funds support $1 million in direct aid to conservation districts and $2 million in cost-share projects for farmers, with 5% of the cost-share appropriation allowed for administration, or about $100,000 in FY26. Officials said the direct-aid line was moved into tobacco funding in 2019, reducing money available for farmer cost-share, and described a multi-year project approval and reallocation process. Senator Webb asked for a more specific breakdown of the $850,000 direct-aid amount, and the cabinet said it would provide that information. The Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy reported that in FY24 it expended just under $30 million across tobacco funds, general funds, restricted funds, and a one-time federal grant, with less than 2% used for administration. Officials said most tobacco settlement money goes to Kentucky ASAP local boards in all 120 counties, supporting prevention, treatment, and some law enforcement work. The Department of Agriculture then began its presentation, describing strategic investments, loan programs, county funding, administrative costs, and a reported return of about $2.30 for every dollar spent, but the transcript cuts off before that presentation was completed.