Transcript Highlights:

• I want to welcome you to the first hearing of the Senate Committee on Finance for the 89th regular session
• I enjoyed the last session, and I introduce my Kathy C., who will be working on this session.
• A couple of other questions: you know, this legislative session hasn't passed—legislative session, yes
• For the Senate this session.
• So the legislature appropriated to us in the past session, as well as this coming session, whereas we

Bills: SB 1

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

Summary: The Senate Finance Committee convened for its first hearing of the 89th regular session, confirmed a quorum, adopted committee rules by a 15-0 vote, and began review of Senate Bill 1, the state budget for fiscal years 2026-27. Chair Huffman outlined the committee’s organization, introduced staff, and described the budget as conservative and focused on one-time investments. She highlighted major SB 1 priorities including property tax relief, full funding for public education formulas, teacher pay, school safety, border security, Medicaid growth, dementia research, energy and water infrastructure, transportation, wildfire suppression, and other capital and public safety needs. Comptroller Glenn Hager presented the biennial revenue estimate, saying the state has $194.6 billion available for general-purpose spending in 2026-27, with a projected $23.8 billion ending balance from the current biennium. He cautioned that revenue growth is returning to more normal levels and that lawmakers should avoid committing short-term surpluses to ongoing expenses. He also explained that the Economic Stabilization Fund is projected to hit its constitutional cap, meaning an estimated $5.6 billion in severance tax and related revenue would remain in general revenue in the upcoming biennium rather than flow into the fund. Senators discussed whether to raise or rename the fund and the implications of keeping more severance-tax revenue in general revenue. The Legislative Budget Board then gave an overview of SB 1 and the budget’s major funding changes. LBB staff explained that the bill is essentially flat at $332.9 billion in all funds, but includes large method-of-finance shifts and major property tax relief. They detailed how prior property tax relief enacted in the 88th Legislature grew from an estimated $18 billion to $22.7 billion because of higher property values and hold-harmless provisions, and said SB 1 continues that relief with a total of $51 billion in ongoing and new property tax support. Members asked extensive questions about the automatic growth in school tax compression, the constitutional homestead exemption, COVID-era federal funding, Medicaid assumptions, and the sunset of the non-homestead circuit breaker. No additional votes or final budget actions were taken beyond adoption of the committee rules.

Transcript Highlights:

• During a regular session, the committee championed several policies that promote residential development
• Yeah, several of the bills we've got coming up for next session.
• Yeah, several of the bills we've got coming up for next session.
• If the bill that comes forward next session says that, we would, we would, last session it didn't.
• We recommend certain bills filed in the last session be refiled and passed in the next legislative session

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Summary: The committee met to monitor implementation of several housing-related bills from the 89th session, with the chair emphasizing Texas’s housing shortage and the need to review land-use laws. For House Bill 24, witnesses from the Texas Public Policy Foundation, Reason Foundation, a church-affordable housing project, Habitat for Humanity, developers, and housing advocates said the bill’s higher protest threshold and simpler council override had reduced procedural barriers to rezoning, helped projects move forward, and supported lower rents and more multifamily development. Public testimony largely praised HB 24 as working as intended, and the chair noted it had passed the committee 6-1, the House 83-56, and the Senate unanimously. The committee then heard testimony on Senate Bill 1567, which preempted certain municipal occupancy limits based on unrelated-adult restrictions. Supporters, including Texas Public Policy Foundation, Texas Realtors, Texans for Housing, and Texas A&M student leaders, said the law improved clarity, reduced arbitrary local limits, and helped students and property owners use existing housing more efficiently. Opponents from College Station and Bryan-College Station neighborhood groups argued the law has encouraged investor purchases, tear-downs, and “stealth dorms,” displaced working-class residents, and harmed family homeownership. The chair noted SB 1567 had passed the committee 5-1, the House 101-19, and the Senate 30-1. The committee also reviewed Senate Bill 15, which reduced minimum lot sizes in covered jurisdictions. Ed Pinto of AEI said the law had already led to thousands of new small lots and lower-cost starter homes, while recommending expansion to more counties and broader application to attached housing. Other witnesses from builders, Pew, and housing advocates said smaller lots can increase affordability, but some cities, such as College Station and Grand Prairie, were adding local standards that could blunt the bill’s effect. City representatives from El Paso described how they implemented the law by reducing lot sizes and widths, while urging broader applicability to more of the city. The chair said SB 15 had passed the committee 7-0, the House 86-43, and the Senate 24-7. Finally, the committee began hearing testimony on Senate Bill 840, a by-right multifamily redevelopment measure. City officials from Garland and Plano described how they had updated local standards to comply while preserving design and setback rules, and said the bill could help redevelop built-out commercial corridors and add housing without expanding city footprints. The transcript ended as the committee continued taking testimony on SB 840.

Transcript Highlights:

• Okay, so thank you for that answer because my next question, I recall my freshman session, my first session
• I've proposed legislation in the regular session to limit the amount of properties.
• I've proposed legislation in the regular session to limit the amount of properties that corporations
• When I first got the call for the special session, and I knew it was going to be about property taxes
• session.

Summary: The House took up the special order calendar for a proposed constitutional amendment on property taxes, CS/HJR 1F, which would create a new homestead exemption for non-school taxes, lower the annual assessment cap on non-homestead property, and restrict how counties and municipalities may use ad valorem tax revenue. The sponsor, Rep. Overdorf, said the measure would give homeowners tax relief and argued local governments could adjust spending or use other revenue sources. Opponents repeatedly questioned the ballot language, the lack of a fiscal estimate or backfill, and the potential impact on local services, public safety, and debt obligations. The House adopted the special order report and then debated the resolution and a series of amendments. Several amendments were offered to carve out or protect specific services from the tax changes. Rep. Bartleman’s amendment to protect Children’s Services Councils and Children’s Trusts was supported by members who said those entities fund early learning, mental health, aftercare, and other services for children and working families, but it failed 25-74. Rep. Cross offered an amendment to include water management districts in allowable ad valorem uses, warning of impacts on flood control, water quality, Everglades restoration, and water supply; that amendment also failed. Rep. Eskamani offered an amendment requiring the Legislature to backfill public safety funding if local revenues fall, arguing police and fire services, staffing, and response times would be at risk; it failed 25-71. The chamber then rejected Rep. Woodson’s amendment to require state backfill for senior services, with supporters citing Meals on Wheels, transportation, adult day care, and other local senior programs, and opponents saying the proposal was outside the bill’s scope. Finally, Rep. Gant offered an amendment to protect veteran services, saying local governments fund housing, mental health, transition, and family support programs for veterans; debate emphasized the importance of honoring veterans and avoiding cuts to those services. The transcript cuts off during debate on that amendment, before a final vote is shown.

Transcript Highlights:

• Okay, so thank you for that answer because my next question, I recall my freshman session, my first session
• I’ve proposed legislation in the regular session to limit the amount of properties…” “I’ve proposed legislation
• in the regular session to limit the amount of properties that corporations can purchase because all
• When I first got the call for the special session, and I knew it was going to be about property taxes
• session.

Keywords: 998, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I was on staff in both 2012 and in 2022 doing the regular redistricting process.
• There's also, in that area of Broward County, some of the municipal lines, which are not regular in shape
• And so we, as the legislature, receive the governor's proclamation to come to special session to take
• can only tell you that we have been called here in response to the governor's call for a special session
• This legislation has already made it clear in our regular session that they will do anything to further

Summary: The Committee on Rules met with a quorum and heard a Governor’s Office presentation on a proposed congressional reapportionment map. The governor’s counsel argued that mid-cycle congressional redistricting is legally permissible, that race should not be considered at all in drawing districts, and that the Florida Fair Districts provisions are inconsistent with federal equal protection law and should be treated as non-severable. The presentation also discussed the pending U.S. Supreme Court case Louisiana v. Callais and the Florida Supreme Court’s Black Voters Matter decision as part of the legal rationale for the map. Jason Parada, who said he drew the map alone, described the map as based on 2020 census block data, with county-level population estimates used only as a guide to identify faster-growing areas. He said the plan keeps 48 counties and 382 municipalities whole, has compactness scores similar to the current benchmark map, and uses traditional geographic and political boundaries such as roads, railways, county lines, and municipal lines. He walked through regional changes, emphasizing a race-neutral redesign that significantly altered South Florida, including changes to districts in Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, and the Everglades, while leaving several northern districts largely unchanged. Members questioned the witnesses extensively about the legal theory, the use of partisan data, the role of race, population growth, and the timing and review of the map. The witnesses said partisan data was considered along with other traditional redistricting criteria, but race was not used. They also said they could not speak to who else reviewed the map beyond EOG staff and counsel. Several senators raised concerns about the map’s compactness, county and city splits, the apparent partisan effects, and the fact that the map was released shortly before the special session. No vote or final action on the map was taken during the portion of the meeting provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• We are now in the early session.
• <00:22:47.760> calendar um to the regular calendar um to the regular calendar and<00:22:50.840
• districts so it is our duty this session districts so it is our duty this session to<01:43:35.320
• The early session is adjourned.
• that the business of the late session that the business of the late session<03:28:41.720> be<

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• and and and regular classroom education. and and and regular classroom education.
• <01:16:55.440> folks, Now, if it wasn't for the regular folks, Now, if it wasn't for the regular
• We have joint sessions in this chamber for a reason.
• We have joint sessions in this chamber for a reason.
• We have joint sessions in this chamber for a reason.

Keywords: 1136, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Um, so anybody who's waiting for that, it won't happen at the end of the session.
• And so for that reason, regular basis.
• I entertain a motion to go into executive session for a discussion.
• We are out of executive session, and we're only three minutes behind now.
• <01:59:26.400> Been come out of executive session. Been come out of executive session.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <01:06:26.799> I going to do it on a regular interval?
• I going to do it on a regular interval?
• but that the bienium um the 2027 session but that the bienium um the 2027 session will<01:31:12.159
• Thank you, Chair Todd, and others here who have participated in those sessions.
• <01:59:58.239> is short of that during the session is short of that during the session is

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• are listed on our executive session are listed on our executive session sheet<00:08:29.039> um
• uh let's see we have the work session uh let's see we have the work session sheet<00:08:35.479><
• I will now close the exec session on HB 153 and open the exec session for HB 171.
• I will now close the exec session on HB 153 and open the exec session for HB 171.
• I will now close the exec session on HB 150 and open the exec session for HB 171.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The Environment and Agriculture Committee opened by noting member absences and then reviewed the governor’s HB 2 trailer bill language creating a solid waste site evaluation committee. The chair explained that Finance would want the committee’s input on the proposal and also announced a temporary change to the committee’s schedule, with additional Wednesday meetings planned around school vacation. The committee then moved into a work session on several bills. On HB 150, Representative Ktoa offered a simple amendment changing food-processing language from “washed and rinsed” to “cleaned and sanitized” in the processing area. Members agreed the change better matched food safety practice, and the committee indicated support for advancing the bill. On HB 307, dealing with homestead food production areas, members discussed proposed amendment language that would add clearer sanitary requirements, including handwashing access, sanitary storage, sanitizable food-contact surfaces, and pest exclusion. The committee also discussed whether to replace “potentially hazardous food” with “time temperature control safe food,” but several members favored keeping the existing term because it is already well defined in food safety law. The bill was held for further amendment work rather than being executed immediately. The committee spent substantial time on solid waste legislation. For HB 479, members recalled a prior plan for a letter to the solid waste working group and agreed to proceed with the bill in executive session, with an offer of drafting help from Representative Bixby. For HB 77, which would require DES to establish site-specific setback distances for proposed new landfills, Representative Penza said his amendment was not ready yet but was close, and the bill was left for further discussion. The most detailed discussion was on HB 2115, which would require landfill permit applicants to submit a report on the project’s harms and benefits. Representative Germana explained an amendment that would replace section one, expand the list of benefits to include economic potential and infrastructure improvements, and set up a third-party review process in which the applicant submits a list of reviewers, DES screens the list, and the commissioner selects a reviewer if no agreement is reached within 60 days. Members asked about who could serve as contractors, whether they had to be local, and how DES would judge qualifications; the response was that environmental engineering and similar firms could be used, local or outside the community, and that the process would remain somewhat flexible. Representative H. Haskins asked whether the legislature or subcommittee would be formally notified of preliminary review problems, and the chair said no additional notification process would be built in beyond existing practice. The committee planned to continue work on the bills in upcoming executive sessions, including after school break.

Transcript Highlights:

• monitoring healthy eating and regular monitoring healthy eating and regular exercise<00:42:46.920
• Did we go into executive session?
• We’re out of executive session.
• <01:53:13.239> I coming out of the executive session I coming out of the executive session
• <01:53:21.040> this<01:53:21.440> is session this is session this is 59<01:53:24.119>

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:09:28.680> I'm<00:09:28.839> going rise as we start this session I'm going rise
• We are working to try to support our property owners who are impacted by regular flooding.
• We are working to try to support our property owners who are impacted by regular flooding.
• We are working to try to support our property owners who are impacted by regular flooding.
• if you want to have a general session if you want to have a general session available<03:53:59.479

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee first discussed scheduling and notice for upcoming executive sessions on a larger slate of bills, including plans to take up eight bills in the morning and possibly the last three bills in the afternoon, with caucus time provided if needed. The chair emphasized advance notice, publication, and flexibility if more bills are added later. The hearing then opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and proceeded to HB 568, a bill allowing local planning boards to request water supply studies for subdivisions to ensure water adequacy as housing density increases. Representative Kat McGee, the prime sponsor, said HB 568 was developed after constituent concerns about private wells being affected by nearby development. She described the bill as narrowly tailored, non-mandatory, and intended to preserve local control while clarifying that planning boards may request studies under local regulations. She noted bipartisan support, an exclusion for community water systems and larger groundwater withdrawals regulated elsewhere, and said the bill would help prevent water shortages and related problems for new and existing homes. Questions from members focused on whether the bill should specify that it applies to subdivisions of four or more lots, since that language had been in an earlier version. Testimony on HB 568 was mixed. Bob Quinn of the New Hampshire Association of Realtors opposed the bill, arguing it lacked a definition of “water supply study,” could lead to expensive hydrology studies, and might raise housing costs; he suggested more work with DES or a study committee. DES administrator Brandon Kernin said the department had worked from a 2010 groundwater commission report, that such problems arise only intermittently in certain areas, and that the bill would make explicit local authority to adopt such ordinances. He also said DES data and homeowner surveys can help identify problem areas and that more robust wells could be considered in the long term. The committee noted 10 online submissions in favor and 3 opposed, plus blue-sheet testimony of 2 in favor and 1 neutral, and then closed the hearing on HB 568. The committee immediately opened HB 582, a bill on safety requirements for operation of personal watercraft. Representative Darby, the sponsor, said the bill responds to the speed and maneuverability of modern personal watercraft, which he described as more like motorcycles on water than traditional boats, and cited a fatal accident on Lake Monomonac as an example of the risks. He said the bill is not intended to restrict ordinary recreation or wake surfing, but to update safety standards for a newer class of larger, quieter three-person PWCs. The hearing began with Darby’s presentation, and no vote or final action was taken in the portion provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• and into the next session.
• and into the next session.
• and into the next session.
• So I'm excited to serve with— ...this session and into the next session.
• and into the next session.

Keywords: 995, all

Summary: The House and Senate chairs opened the first organizational meeting of the special initiative commission created by Chapter 238 of the Acts of 2024 to study the future of payments and sales transactions by credit card and the impacts on small businesses. They explained that no testimony would be taken at this meeting; instead, the commission would begin its work, introduce members, and prepare for future hearings and a final report with recommendations on credit cards and other payment methods. The chairs outlined the commission’s charge: to examine payment trends, cashless transactions, credit card fees, mobile payments, buy now, pay later financing, and the effects of section 28A of chapter 140D on small businesses. They said the commission would likely organize hearings around business and consumer impacts, the legal and regulatory landscape, and policy options such as transparency measures, reporting requirements, and possible limits. Members discussed the importance of hearing from retailers, restaurants, banks, small businesses, and possibly experts, and suggested considering cryptocurrency and whether hearings should be held outside the State House or include regional access. Several commissioners and stakeholders introduced themselves, including representatives from the Attorney General’s office, the House, the Executive Office of Economic Development, the Commissioner of Banks, retail and restaurant associations, a banking representative, and two small business owners. The chairs said interested parties could sign up to testify or receive notices, written testimony would be accepted, and the first hearing was tentatively set for April 8 in Gardner Auditorium. The meeting ended with a motion to close, which passed unanimously.

Transcript Highlights:

• are present in this afternoon's session.
• Senators, just a notice to all senators: we are voting on the first bill of the session, so just make
• Section 1 and 2 of House Bill 1 appropriates expenses for the 2025 regular session for the Senate and
• , that we have had in a session for a while.
• We do have a joint session to hear the State of the Judiciary.

Transcript Highlights:

• line 18.3, establishes new requirements for MDE to review curricula and intervention materials on a regular
• Instead, we recommend language that maintains Minnesota's current expectation for 11 or fewer regular
• 00:23:58.159> fewer current expectation for 11 or fewer current expectation for 11 or fewer regular
• drills each year, but allows regular drills each year, but allows districts<00:24:01.280> to<
• an opportunity for the co-chairs to comment before we lay this bill over and head off to our next session

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• So if we've got cash deposited in a bank in a normal regular bank account and the amount is in excess
• Of course, last session we passed the new deal with the electronic tracking.
• And that would allow, I think it was, in the last session, the vehicle all was transferred over to Shared

Summary: The committee first approved the minutes and then heard audit reports from Tom Bullington. For the Department of Public Safety FY24 audit, two findings were presented: a duplicate vendor payment of nearly $3,700 that was later recouped, and a $2.5 million collateral deficiency tied to bank deposits that exceeded FDIC coverage because securities were not properly pledged to the State Police. Agency representatives from Arkansas State Police and the Department of Public Safety answered questions, and members discussed how the collateral requirement works before the report was filed without objection. The committee then reviewed the Department of Transformation and Shared Services FY24 audit, which contained five findings. These included an $800 career service overpayment caused by incorrect rehire data, delayed deactivation and inaccurate listing of fixed assets including stolen cameras, a double count of more than $940,000 in year-end cash records, $10.3 million in health claims that should have been recorded as fiscal year 2024 payables, and repeated deficiencies in vehicle mileage logs. Agency officials said the stolen cameras were recovered through restitution, and they described corrective steps for asset tracking, cash reporting, and vehicle logs. Members asked detailed questions about the vehicle log issues and the planned statewide GPS/telematics rollout. Shared Administrative Services said it is negotiating a vendor contract, expects to implement the system first in its own department, and aims to use GPS, geofencing, alerts, and WEX fuel-card data to improve oversight while preserving privacy. The committee also discussed possible future vehicle sharing across agencies, but no action was taken beyond filing the report. The meeting adjourned after announcing the next meeting date.

Transcript Highlights:

• We would really like to keep doing our regular jobs and not have to think from scratch.
• And then, as we get into session, we'll have some public meetings as we can take votes and make recommendations
• earnest through these Budget hearings and begin to have some more public hearings when we get into session

Keywords: 914, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So, regular public school students for the time that they're there or totally fully back enrolled. >>
• So, in that case they would become a regular student again at the public school, and then the funding
• So, regular public school students for the time that they're there or totally fully back enrolled. >>
• So, in that case they would become a regular student again at the public school, and then the funding
• So, regular public school students for the time that they're there or totally fully back enrolled. >>

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• People don't renew their cards for whatever reason on a regular basis.
• You know, when we see a regular basis.
• We held a listening session to hear complaints from patients and concerns.
• <01:06:00.640> from<01:06:00.880> patients session to hear complaints from patients
• session to hear complaints from patients and<01:06:01.520> concerns.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Summary: The Health and Human Services Oversight Committee met on April 17 and approved the prior meeting minutes, then set its next meeting for May 29 at 9:30 a.m. Members also discussed a New Futures effort to collect questions about Medicaid changes and post answers as an FAQ, with a preference that the FAQ live on New Futures’ website rather than the state website. The commissioner’s office said it would coordinate responses and that the issue is still evolving. The main presentation was an HHS update focused on the state public health laboratory and its work during Public Health Lab Week. Officials reviewed the lab’s history, its biosafety functions, and its role in disease prevention, food safety, preparedness, and response. They highlighted mosquito surveillance for eastern equine encephalitis, West Nile virus, and Jamestown Canyon virus, noting that the lab tested more than a quarter million mosquitoes last year and that mosquito testing helps provide early warning for local public health decisions. They also discussed rabies testing, saying New Hampshire’s lab is the only one in the state that performs it, that rabies is fatal once symptoms begin, and that the work is preventable through early prophylaxis. Members asked about federal funding cuts, water testing, and whether CDC changes to rabies testing would affect New Hampshire. The department said it had been affected by an $80 million federal clawback but was managing through other funds and staff reassignments; for the water lab, temporary staff had been hired to continue swimming-area testing. Officials said the state remains able to handle rabies testing and that federal changes would mainly affect areas without similar services. They also answered questions on Jamestown Canyon virus, saying New Hampshire had one human case in 2025 and three in 2024, compared with zero West Nile cases in 2025 and one in 2024, and that weather and protective measures influence mosquito-borne disease levels. Additional questions covered biosafety levels, cyanobacteria coordination with the Department of Environmental Services, and the Brown Building flood mitigation, which was described as about halfway complete with a hoped-for reopening of the west side by June.

Transcript Highlights:

• Had not thought about fisheries, but given the circumstances of this session, I probably should look
• ,<00:25:17.600> I circumstances of this session, I circumstances of this session, I probably
• The Rules Committee has met and posted the following bills and resolutions to the regular orders for
• <02:02:00.960> orders<02:02:01.599> for<02:02:01.920> Thursday, the regular
• orders for Thursday, the regular orders for Thursday, February<02:02:03.119> 26,<02:02:04.159>

Keywords: 958, all

Summary: The House convened with an invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance, then established a quorum with 96 members present. The chamber excused absent members, suspended rules to allow bill and resolution co-sponsorship and vote modifications, approved the previous day’s journal, and received Senate messages announcing passage of Senate Bills 101, 129, 162, and 170. The clerk then reported second-reading bills and favorable committee reports, which were ordered to first reading and placed on the calendar. The House then took up several bills on third reading. House Bill 521, relating to stalking, was presented as a modernization of Kentucky’s stalking laws and passed 95-0 after debate; a motion to reconsider was tabled. House Bill 220, relating to pension spiking in the Kentucky Public Pensions Authority systems, was amended by House floor amendment 1 to move the effective date back to July 1, 2021 to capture additional employees, then passed 95-0 and the clincher was applied. House Bill 510, relating to organ donation safety, passed 97-0 after explanation that it would require a pause and restart if anyone in the process believed there were indications of life. House Bill 467, relating to real property, passed 96-0 after adoption of a committee substitute; it creates a process for local governments to identify abandoned or underutilized state-owned property and sets procedures for review, notice, and disposal. House Bill 190, relating to licensed child care centers, passed 96-0 after a committee substitute that adjusts square-footage calculations for certain school-aged child care areas and excludes infants and toddlers. House Bill 141, relating to type 1 diabetes, passed 96-0 after a committee substitute removed an annual distribution requirement and instead made informational materials available in school offices; members spoke in support, including one describing a family experience with the disease. House Bill 518, relating to collection of local business taxes and fees, passed 91-3 after a committee substitute that allows electronic filing while preserving local control, creates an advisory committee, and phases in implementation through July 2029. House Bill 497, relating to post-secondary tuition waivers, was explained as addressing waiver costs to universities and was amended with House floor amendment 3 to expand and clarify eligibility, including up to 128 hours for eligible students and additional provisions for certain groups; discussion was underway when the transcript ended. The meeting also included committee reports on bills covering wildlife depredation, light pollution, limited commercial driver’s licenses, prison educational programs, civil rights, respiratory care, dietitians, temporary structures, controlled substances prescribing authority, the Athletic Trainer Compact, children of military families, local boards of education, youth health services, and class sizes for exceptional children and youth.