Transcript Highlights:

• What about local government projects where they need not just a consultant but somebody to come up and
• What about local government projects where they need not just a consultant but somebody to come up and
• Uh<00:18:39.440> what<00:18:39.679> about<00:18:39.919> local<00:18:40.320> government
• <00:18:40.720> projects Uh what about local government projects Uh what about local government
• in Austin, Texas. in Austin, Texas.

Keywords: Discussion of BR 25 (2026 RS) 04:15 Presentation on voting systems by ES&S 48:14 Presentation on voting systems by Hart InterCivic and Harp Enterprises 01:13:07, 958, all

Summary: The committee met to approve the October 21 minutes and then took up BR 25 for the 2026 regular session, a proposal relating to prohibited uses of tax dollars and public resources. The sponsors said the bill is intended to strengthen existing law by adding civil and criminal penalties for taxpayer-funded advocacy on ballot questions, especially in light of controversies during the 2024 election over school officials and districts using public resources to oppose a constitutional amendment. They also described related concerns about school districts hiring third-party lobbyists and public relations firms, particularly in Fayette County, and said the proposal was meant to keep tax dollars focused on public services rather than political persuasion. Committee members raised several concerns about scope and drafting. Some asked whether the bill should specifically mention schools, school boards, and school employees, and the sponsors said they would add that language. Others questioned whether the measure would also affect local government lobbying through groups like KLC and KCO, and the sponsors said they intended to focus narrowly on schools while exempting certain advocacy organizations and internal government lobbyists. Members also asked whether public employees could still speak as private individuals, and the sponsors said yes. Several members suggested splitting the lobbying and ballot-advocacy issues into separate bills, and the sponsors said they would consider that. Members also pressed for clarification on how the bill would apply in practice, including whether it would cover legal challenges to petition drives or only advocacy after a question is on the ballot. Counsel for the sponsors said the bill would not cover some petition-related litigation as drafted, though they believed it should. The sponsors and supporters argued the proposal was needed to give the existing prohibition real enforcement, while some members warned that the language could unintentionally limit legitimate public representation or be too broad if not carefully drafted. No final vote was taken during the discussion.

Transcript Highlights:

• Association and the Texas Fair Plan.
• code and the local government code allow governmental entities and political subdivisions to create
• Examples are organizations like the Texas Municipal League and the Texas Association of Counties.
• Group Guarantee Fund, and we nominate five members to the governing committee of the Texas Auto Insurance
• Texas coast.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We show you registered as Andrea Sparks, not on our watch, Texas. Yes, Chairman.
• Transportation Code.
• To ensure local community supervision and corrections departments are not overlooked.
• The second thing is, is that there's 3 branches of government in this country.
• CSCDs remain under the judicial branch in the government code, and judges still hold responsibility for

Transcript Highlights:

• The federal government maintains a list. That list can change.
• . ...of these hostile foreign governments.
• the policy right here in Texas.
• on to join a limited government at the federal level.
• This is about Texas colleges and universities, that's right.

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They wanted government involvement. Do you remember that?
• Now they want a bunch of government involvement.
• in the state of Texas, period, end of conversation.
• Texas Tech's Dr.
• Let those local ISDs make those decisions.

Bills: HB2

Keywords: public education, teacher compensation, certification, funding, school finance, educator rights, education funding, charter schools, staff compensation, state aid, retention allotment, 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• No, um, as long as we're licensed in the state of Texas and meet the qualifications in our family code
• That would allow for the online notarization process outlined in Chapter 406 of the Texas government
• I am an attorney in Galveston, Texas, been practicing for 26 years, and I'm also president of the Texas
• That's under the estates code, that's not under the family code. I just want to be really careful.
• It is a crime under the penal code.

Bills: HB116

Keywords: film industry, incentives, economic development, state funding, media production

Transcript Highlights:

• Because if we want Texas to be the best place to raise a family, we have to make sure Texas is the best
• The Texas Education Code and past actions of this body have prioritized a well-rounded education for
• to local workforce boards.
• Texas PTA urges you to support a school funding bill that provides adequate funding, respects local decision-making
• In more than 50% of Texas counties, the local education system is either the first or second largest

Bills: HB2

Keywords: public education, teacher compensation, certification, funding, school finance, educator rights, education funding, charter schools, staff compensation, state aid, retention allotment, 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• And provide local governments with a compassionate alternative to allowing them to suffer on the streets
• Chapter 573 of the Texas Health and Safety Code currently permits this warrantless, meaning a mental
• Um, members, uh, Section 22.002A of the Government Code is the codification of Article 5, Section 3 of
• the Texas Constitution.
• Um, that section of the government code to clarify that the Texas Supreme Court may issue writs of crescendo

Bills: SB 53

Keywords: voter registration, election procedures, provisional ballot, change of address, residence requirements

Transcript Highlights:

• Every bond is an increase in taxes, and Texas has a local debt of almost $500 billion.
• Local government impact is projected to be no significant fiscal implication to units of local government
• So if you look at the Texas Bond Review Board's latest local annual report, what it suggests is that
• when you compare Texas' local debt outstanding to the top 10 most populous states in the nation, we actually
• Right, so only California and New York have a higher level of local debt per capita than Texas.

Transcript Highlights:

• It modified the Texas Family Code to expand programs for certificate for determinate sentencing laws
• The requirement under Title III of the Texas Family Code, community, The requirement under Title III
• of the Texas Family Code, community safety, is number one.
• Judge Wheeles just mentioned the Texas Family Code, Chapter 51.01, specifically states to provide for
• Amendments to Chapter 574 of the Texas Health and Safety Code and the current provisions of Article 46C

Keywords: 1185, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So I've been in local government for 8 years, state rep for 4 years.
• This bill in no way does it silence local governments.
• Representative Gantt: If the local government is not submitting its local funding initiative request
• The hope was to give some local governments some flexibility to use some of the excess building code
• Many local governments are actually making starter homes illegal.

Transcript Highlights:

• Local governments can't carry this burden alone.
• We also have been able, with partners of local governments and non-governmental organizations, to secure
• We also have been able, with partners of local governments and non-governmental organizations, to secure
• Second is our code enforcement.
• She lives in Texas.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Locally typically through property taxes or groundwater production fees and governed by locally elected
• Those local areas, or does the Texas Water Development Board, or whomever, have the right to say... as
• Texas stands. for fairness, accountability, and local decision-making.
• I think I'd like to touch on the economic impact that I feel like that are. local East Texas area is
• Texas cannot be Texas if we stand by and allow large corporations to undermine local communities. and

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The government code and the local government code allow governmental entities and political subdivisions
• Examples are organizations like the Texas Municipal League and the Texas Association of Counties.
• To benefit Texas consumers.
• Group Guarantee Fund, and we nominate 5 members to the governing committee of the Texas Auto Insurance
• Chapter 2210 of the Texas Insurance Code directs TWIA to operate as an insurance company.

Transcript Highlights:

• This update brings Texas law in line with federal regulations. ...with 14 CFR Part 126, which governs
• And, you know, in Texas, I mean, I'm sure you're aware, but I want all the members of the in Texas, I
• Committee Substitute House Bill 5,616 directs the Texas Historical Commission to establish the Texas
• people of Texas.
• In Texas, school safety... In Texas, school safety is non-negotiable.

Summary: The Senate first adopted a motion by Senator Zaffirini to suspend Senate Rule 5.14 and move the intent calendar deadline to 8:00 p.m. that day, also allowing the Secretary to make the calendar available as soon as practicable. The chamber then took up and passed several House bills, often by suspending the regular order and the constitutional three-day rule. HB 2128, relating to a study of rural firefighting and technical rescue capabilities, passed unanimously. HB 4157, on liability protections for commercial spaceflight and exploration, passed 28-3. HB 2240, concerning certain void marriages, passed after adoption of a Birdwell amendment extending filing deadlines to 90 days for certain active-duty service members and Foreign Service officers. HB 367, on verification of excused absences for students with severe or life-threatening illnesses, passed unanimously after clarifying school district forms and TEA model forms. HB 1506, expanding expedited handgun license eligibility to certain retired county court judges, passed 29-2. HB 4449, on alcohol sales in annexed municipal areas, passed 29-2. HB 3812, on health plan prior authorization requirements, passed 30-1. The Senate also announced a long list of bills and resolutions signed in the presence of the Senate. A major portion of the meeting centered on HB 521, a voting-related bill on curbside voting for voters with disabilities. Senator Paxton described it as an anti-misuse measure requiring a signed eligibility form for curbside voting, creating a 20-foot electioneering buffer, limiting election officer assistance in marking ballots unless a second officer is present, and adding reporting requirements for people who assist seven or more curbside voters. Senators Miles, Menendez, Johnson, Campbell, Cook, and others questioned whether the bill would burden disabled voters, create a de facto registry of volunteers, and impose a harsh Class A misdemeanor penalty for failing to complete the form. Paxton said the bill was intended to protect legitimate curbside voters and curb abuse, and the chamber adopted Paxton Floor Amendment No. 1 after a recorded vote. Zaffirini’s Floor Amendment No. 2, allowing an escorting voter to receive his or her own ballot at the curbside or entrance, was adopted. Menendez’s Floor Amendment No. 3 to reduce the penalty failed. The bill was then passed to third reading on a 20-11 vote, with a motion by Senator Miles to have the exchanges reduced to writing and placed in the journal adopted. The Senate also passed HB 3000, creating a grant program for rural ambulance service providers, after a comptroller-related amendment; HB 5616, establishing the Texas Presidential Library Promotion Program and funding for traveling exhibits, after narrowing the bill to mobile exhibits only; HB 4211, addressing certain residential property interests controlled by entities, which passed 30-1; HB 1178, creating temporary educator certificates for out-of-state certified educators and military spouses, which passed unanimously; HB 2243, creating the Texas Commission on Teacher Job Satisfaction and Retention, which passed after debate over the need to streamline education mandates; and HB 42, increasing and reallocating the constitutional Higher Education Fund appropriation by 50% to $1.18 billion, which passed 31-0. Finally, HB 2512, a Fort Worth-specific bill limiting ETJ release for land subject to active development agreements, passed after debate over broader ETJ and de-annexation policy, with a local-only clarifying amendment adopted and a proposed broader amendment withdrawn. The meeting ended with the Senate beginning consideration of HB 3372, which would bar school district administrators from receiving financial benefits tied to outside consulting or contracting with education entities, though the transcript cuts off during questions on that bill.

Transcript Highlights:

• Texas Insurance Code Title 5, Chapter 542A, Section 542.003.
• When reviewing Texas Insurance Code cases, if an insured hires an attorney, the attorney may handle the
• Yeah, I know, I know how much you've had to do with insurance code in Texas and all that stuff, so I
• Does not include pharmacists or pharmacies under Texas Insurance Code 1458.
• The Texas Insurance Code provides coverage for telemedicine services.

Transcript Highlights:

• with a Texas subpoena, which is what the original bill would have done.
• If she misstepped, she could go to jail in Texas.
• And if I may, Madam President, the mental health code is in the developmental disabilities code.
• And if I may, Madam President, the mental health code is in the developmental disabilities code.
• Senate Bill 120, creating the Local Journalist Employment Income Tax Credit and Local Journalist Employment

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• I think it's a good way to kind of see how local government in these areas are going so that members
• In fact, it definitely streamlines those processes for our local governments.
• So, in fact, it definitely streamlines those processes for our local governments.
• So, in fact, it definitely streamlines those processes for our local governments.
• Well, I just want to know how important those issues are for local governments, too.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• additional visits from a code official additional visits from a code official the<00:14:42.759><
• The idea of basically when you're working for local government is the council expects it, the city managers
• has a statewide building code.
• Texas did change.
• I don't know the specifics of Texas, but I do know that that was the reason that Texas did enact it:

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Summary: The Senate Labor Committee heard Senate File 560, a bill to require the Commissioner of Labor and Industry to establish a cost-per-square-foot valuation for residential building permits. Senator Dornink said the measure is intended to make permit fees more fair, reasonable, transparent, and predictable, and to reduce housing costs by limiting large differences in permit fees between municipalities. He said the bill would be sent to the Housing Committee without recommendation, and members discussed but did not act on a related amendment that would have shifted plan review and inspection fees to hourly and trip-based charges and made fee information publicly available. Testimony from Housing First Minnesota supported the bill’s goal, arguing that Minnesota’s housing shortage and high new-home prices make it important to reduce inefficiencies in the permitting system. The witness said permit valuations are often increased by cities, leading to higher costs for homebuyers, and cited examples of large fee differences between municipalities and claims of overcollection. He said some other states, including Texas and Wisconsin communities, use square-footage-based approaches. A League of Minnesota Cities representative opposed the amendment language and cautioned that trip charges and hourly billing would make fees less certain, could raise costs, and would be especially burdensome in Greater Minnesota; he said current valuation-based fees better reflect the actual cost and complexity of service and can be appealed if disputed. A representative of the Association of Minnesota Building Officials also raised concerns about the amendment, saying building departments provide consultations, inspections, plan review, and other services beyond a single trip, and that trip charges would not fit a responsive fee-for-service model. He said the current valuation system helps cover the full range of permitting work, though he acknowledged that a consistent square-foot valuation standard could improve transparency and reduce disputes over project value. Committee members asked about other states’ approaches and the scope of the bill, and the discussion emphasized that the proposal applies to one- and two-family dwellings.

Transcript Highlights:

• do this, they work with the local governments and power companies, and they don't go in a place and
• /c><00:13:54.480> and local you know you know governments and local you know you know governments
• big complex system of state and local big complex system of state and local governments<01:21:08.080
• We also have increased property taxes to schools and local governments.
• taxes to schools um and local taxes to schools um and local governments<01:27:37.920> the

Bills: HF1277, HF1006

Keywords: data centers, tax exemption, Minnesota statutes, economic development, employment growth, property tax, abatement, land bank, redevelopment, political subdivision, 1183, house