Transcript Highlights:

• So just raise flags. We'll do our best.
• like I said, is a technology state.
• We're here to flag them.
• for the Secretary of State.
• We have flagged that. And we'll go to the state engineer on line number 12. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Keywords: 996, all

Summary: The meeting began as an informal education budget work group focused on reviewing a revised House Appropriations and Finance Committee scenario and flagging concerns rather than taking votes. Staff outlined the main changes from the LFC recommendation, including moving the statewide student information system appropriation, adding funding for the Black, Bilingual, Multicultural and Hispanic Education Act, universal school meals overrun costs, an evidence-based CTE pilot with a 50% local match, STEM network funding, wellness room pilots, Martinez-Yazzie action plan items, and changes to innovation zone and out-of-school time appropriations. A separate handout on the seven-year CTE pilot explained spending patterns, reversions, and possible federal maintenance-of-effort concerns if the state continues funding beyond a true pilot. Members then debated CTE extensively, with several arguing it improves attendance, graduation, and career readiness and should be sustained or expanded, especially in rural areas, while staff and others emphasized that much of the current funding has gone to general operational costs rather than intentional program design and that regional or matched funding models may be more effective. Members also discussed STEM and math initiatives, the need for more industry involvement, and whether the proposed match requirements would be too burdensome for smaller districts and BIE schools. The discussion also covered the Black, Hispanic, and Multilingual Education Acts and the Martinez-Yazzie lawsuit. Some members stressed that the acts should be explicitly named in the budget language and not merely implied, while staff said the scenario reaffirms prior commitments by building the costs into agency operating budgets. Members raised concerns about charter school hold-harmless funding, declining enrollment, and the need to align spending with the needs of at-risk students. The work group ended the education portion without any votes, with staff noting they would incorporate the feedback and return with clarifications, including on CTE funding, the educational acts, and the charter hold-harmless item. The meeting then shifted to the child well-being and early childhood work group, where staff presented a revised Early Childhood Education and Care Department scenario. The proposal moved money toward child care assistance and early pre-K, kept the FIT program funding level unchanged, and used a mix of trust fund, TANF, federal, and operating-budget adjustments to close part of the gap between the executive and LFC recommendations. Members questioned the policy direction, especially the shift toward infant and toddler care and pre-K expansion, the impact on school-age child care, and the implications for continuity of care and provider costs. Staff explained that the scenario prioritizes younger children and at-risk families, includes language for a wage and career ladder, and would require legislation to raise the early childhood trust fund distribution cap from 500 to 525. Members also discussed a separate proposed CYFD pilot bill (HB 65), which would be distinct from ECECD funding. No votes were taken, and staff said they would return with more cost information on full pre-K plus wraparound care. A final work group reviewed C2 and Department of Information Technology-related appropriations. Staff compared the LFC and executive recommendations for new funding and reauthorizations, noting that the LFC generally limited new projects while the executive funded more. Members discussed several IT modernization requests, including the Secretary of State’s voter registration and election management systems, the Spaceport Authority, Game and Fish, the State Engineer’s WATERS system, ECECD’s FitKids and EPIC replacement discovery, and Aging and Long-Term Services’ enterprise system modernization. The main themes were whether to fund planning versus full replacement, how to avoid piecemeal spending, and whether new systems should wait for incoming leadership. The Secretary of State’s office said its system is nearing end of life and the planning funds would help prepare a realistic replacement request, while other agencies described aging infrastructure, cybersecurity risks, and the need for modernization. The work group did not vote on any of the items and ended with staff noting additional follow-up on funding needs and reauthorization details.

Transcript Highlights:

• Uh, Representative Boyd will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of
• state?
• um when comments are out of state? um when comments are out of state?
• <04:22:02.880> by<04:22:03.120> state New Hampshire laws vary state by state New Hampshire
• worked for the state of New Hampshire. worked for the state of New Hampshire.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• states.
• states.
• states.
• We have to flag today. We licenses. We have to flag today.
• just flag uh you said you can just flag just flag uh you said you can just flag people<00:24:20.400

Keywords: Insurance - Room 216, 3 February, 2026; 9:00 AM, 925, all

Summary: The committee took up several insurance and health-related bills. Earlier discussion focused on metastatic cancer step therapy and biomarker testing, with the sponsor explaining that the bills would prevent insurers from requiring patients to try less effective treatments first and would require coverage for biomarker testing to better target treatment. The biomarker bill was described as a product of a summer study committee and was reported favorably. The committee also advanced a bill setting standards tied to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and a private residence elevator bill requiring licensing, inspection, and permitting for elevator installers, with an amendment exempting those elevators from annual inspections after the initial inspection. Members then considered a mitigation program for retrofitting homes, with the sponsor saying the Department of Insurance and industry were close to a workable statewide program. The bill would be funded by increasing a fee paid by insurance companies, not policyholders, and would allow use of a third-party administrator capped at 5% of program funds. The committee also reported bills extending the state health plan repealer, extending the LOSAP volunteer firefighter program repealer, and creating a fraud detection trust fund at the Insurance Department to address AI- and cyber-related fraud. The fraud fund bill drew questions about whether it would raise premiums and how it would help investigators; supporters said the fund would support staffing and equipment and that the existing fund had been dormant. Additional bills included a transparency measure for dental insurance spending, which would require reporting on the share of premiums spent on dental services beginning in 2027, and a bill expanding access to self-funded group health plans for members of legitimate professional and trade associations. The committee also heard a Mississippi Patient Protection Act aimed at strengthening willing-provider protections and limiting insurer discrimination against qualified providers; an amendment was proposed to clarify that vision benefit managers would not be treated as pharmacy benefit managers. Most measures were moved by title sufficient due pass and reported without opposition.

Transcript Highlights:

• May God bless the great state of Texas and the United States of America.
• Please join me in the pledge to the United States flag.
• I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands
• And now to the Texas flag. Honor the Texas flag.
• Citizens across our state and nation.

Transcript Highlights:

• Please remain standing and recite the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America
• To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible
• <00:00:48.640> of<00:00:48.800> the<00:00:48.960> United<00:00:49.200> States
• <00:00:54.320> United<00:00:54.640> States<00:00:55.039> of To the flag of the
• United States of To the flag of the United States of America<00:00:56.239> and<00:00:56.480><

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Then came the creation of the United States of America.
• I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the United States of America.
• And we made it all the way here to the United States.
• And more importantly, this is our flag. This is the flag that we know.
• This is the flag that our community celebrates, that we hold up here in the United States.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• They’re just kind of brushing those red flags away.
• They're just kind of brushing those red flags away.
• After I saw them again, they're like, ‘Hey, that's a red flag. That's a red flag.’
• Well, funny you mentioned San Francisco State.
• We do have 52 CACs in our state. Differently throughout the state.

Summary: The committee met to discuss domestic violence with a focus on teen dating violence, healthy relationships, and the impact of technology on abuse. Chair Blanca Rubio opened by describing the urgency of the issue, including a recent teen murder in her district tied to domestic violence, and emphasized that restraining orders alone do not prevent abuse. The first panel featured Janica Morin Pasquale and Taylor Stone Mill, who described warning signs in teens such as constant monitoring through phones and social media, isolation from friends, jealousy normalized by online content, and control through gifts, food delivery, and access to passwords or tracking apps. They stressed that many teens do not tell parents, that parents often miss the signs, and that prevention should begin early and be reinforced in schools, homes, and youth activities. They also cited resources such as Love Is Respect, One Love, and Take It Down, and urged consistent funding and implementation of the California Healthy Youth Act rather than one-time lessons. The second panel shifted to the effects of domestic violence on children and the systems that respond to them. Joyce Blue of the Sacramento Regional Family Justice Center described the center’s wraparound services, including forensic interviews, legal help, housing support, child therapy, and high-risk response, and highlighted the prevalence and danger of strangulation, including cases with no visible injury. She explained that domestic violence is about power and control, that children often normalize abuse, and that safety planning must accompany restraining orders. Susie Flores of Inner Circle Children’s Advocacy Center explained the multidisciplinary forensic interview model used for child abuse cases, gave examples of severe abuse involving children exposed to domestic violence, and noted that many centers are overwhelmed by caseloads. She stressed the need for immediate trauma-informed services and more front-end intervention rather than waiting until long-term harm develops. Dr. Pamela Tate of Black Women Revolt Against Domestic Violence and other members discussed the need to support not only victims but also the systems and educators who are expected to respond. Several members shared personal experiences with domestic violence, sexual assault, and family trauma, and raised concerns about school implementation, immigrant families’ fear of reporting, and the need to address abusers’ behavior and trauma as well. The discussion also touched on statute of limitations issues, with panelists saying memory and trauma can delay disclosure for years and that rigid deadlines can prevent justice. No votes were taken; the meeting was informational and ended with members expressing support for continued collaboration, prevention funding, and stronger implementation of existing law.

Transcript Highlights:

• /c><00:49:40.079> is<00:49:40.319> because state by state doing this is because state by
• Huge red flag. Stay on the line. Huge red flag.
• Huge red flags.
• Huge red flags.
• ATMs in in the state. ATMs in in the state.

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The committee held an informational briefing on fraud in the community, with presenters from ARP, CoinFlip, HPD, the Hawaii Bankers Association, DCCA’s Office of Consumer Protection, and the Department of Law Enforcement. The chair described widespread scams targeting kupuna and other residents, including impersonation of grandchildren, lottery/inheritance schemes, romance scams, online shopping fraud, investment scams, and tech-support scams. Members emphasized the emotional manipulation used by scammers, the difficulty of getting victims to report losses, and the need to educate the public on warning signs and available resources. ARP said scams are an epidemic and highlighted national data showing major losses among older adults, including $4.8 billion lost by people age 60 and over in 2024. ARP focused especially on cryptocurrency kiosks as a growing scam channel in Hawaii, citing 64 complaints totaling $922,000 in 2024 and noting that complaints nearly doubled from the prior year. ARP urged stronger safeguards such as limits on transactions, refunds, live customer support, and a law-enforcement contact for operators, and said its Fraud Watch Network can help victims freeze credit, identify next steps, and track current scams. The chair said he intends to introduce legislation to lower and ultimately eliminate the amount of Bitcoin that can be purchased through ATMs. CoinFlip said it supports consumer-protection regulation and described its compliance practices, including scam warning screens, anti-money-laundering controls, blockchain analytics, wallet pinning, transaction monitoring, and cooperation with law enforcement. The company said it is registered as a money services business, files suspicious activity and currency transaction reports, and holds money transmitter licenses in many jurisdictions. It also pointed to Illinois-style refund protections for new users and said it refunds fees to scam victims, though not the underlying funds. In response to committee questions, members and the company discussed whether crypto kiosks are necessary, how scams can be traced, and whether banks and kiosks can better intervene when suspicious activity is detected.

Transcript Highlights:

• and Texas flags.
• I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands
• And now to the Texas flag. Honor the Texas flag.
• State your inquiry.
• State your inquiry.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• The bill was requested by the Minnesota State Patrol and will address concerns State Patrol troopers
• I recognize a member from Ramsey, Representative Pinto. um State Gov. um State Gov.
• <00:51:29.880> State parliamentary inquiry, please. State parliamentary inquiry, please.
• Thank you, Madam Speaker. of red flags and questions and who is of red flags and questions and who is
• state government writ large? state government writ large?

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:03:06.799> government and monitored by the state government and monitored by the state
• > now<00:03:09.159> considering and six states are now considering and six states are now
• Texas and Idaho and four of those states Texas and Idaho and four of those states allow<00:03:16.720
• <00:04:50.199> of that we are prepared in the state of that we are prepared in the state of
• <00:15:52.639> in proponents of that uh in our state in proponents of that uh in our state

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• So I’ll just flag it.”
• <01:54:27.199> not flags to me like what is the state not flags to me like what is the state
• not the state yeah the state wouldn't not the state yeah the state wouldn't get<01:55:02.599>
• The commission on the state flag—that’s 211, I think. 525 is the DEA and heart of hearing, which we forgot
• <01:59:31.800> flag um the commission on the state flag um the commission on the state flag

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee reviewed selected House Bill 2 provisions, focusing first on the group two pension reform language and whether it matched prior legislation and the fiscal note. Members discussed two main issues: the treatment of extra and special duty pay in the pension calculation for employees hired before 2011, and the annuity multiplier after 15 years of creditable service. Several members said the HB 2 language was intended to restore prior law and protect against pension “spiking,” while others worried the draft and fiscal note may not have fully reflected current law, potentially affecting the cost estimate. The discussion repeatedly emphasized the need to avoid underfunding or double counting and to make sure Finance had the correct actuarial assumptions. No vote was taken; the committee agreed to flag the issues for Finance and to clarify the fiscal note. Members also discussed the vested-rights language, which was described as an explicit definition of vesting and a restriction on future legislative changes to compensation calculations after three years of service. Some viewed it as a policy protection with no immediate fiscal impact, while others noted it had been included in prior legislation and should be clearly understood before the bill moved forward. The committee also briefly referenced prior pension legislation, including House Bill 436 and House Bill 727, and noted that HB 2 was being used to carry forward related pension repair provisions. The committee then turned to an OPLC-related section transferring building, plumbing, electrical, and fuel gas inspector positions from OPLC to the Department of Safety’s Fire Marshal’s office. Testimony explained that the nine inspector positions are funded from the licensing fund, and that the move was justified as a public-safety function better aligned with the Fire Marshal’s mission because the inspections are statewide code-enforcement work rather than facility-specific licensing work. The discussion ended with a note that the remaining HB 2 changes run through 2034 and a brief announcement about memorial arrangements for C.J. Gerard.

Transcript Highlights:

• our state and across our country. our state and across our country.
• families across our state. families across our state.
• state of Minnesota.
• 500 alone in the state of Texas. That's one state out of 50 in this country.
• of our state. of our state.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• and Texas flags.
• hands over our hearts and face the flag?
• I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands
• I pledge allegiance to the flag of the State of Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible.
• I pledge allegiance to the flag of the State of Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible.

Keywords: 1184, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• have been that murdered two children in my community but have done and inflicted damage across our state
• But it would be a step forward to strengthen our very successful red flag laws.
• Red flags is an example where we have actual data.
• The red flag law and background checks, and it was not easy.
• overseen by state patrol obviously. overseen by state patrol obviously.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• flag pole of the Minnesota State Capitol.
• the North flag pole of the Minnesota state<00:03:35.519> capital<00:03:36.439> so<00:03
• battle was what saved the United States battle was what saved the United States during<00:04:24.400
• They fixed their bayonets, they charged, and they saved the State of Minnesota.
• They fixed their bayonets, they charged, and they saved the State of Minnesota.

Keywords: 1183, house

Transcript Highlights:

• Information from DHSMV to Department of State cross-checks, and then Department of State working with
• in those states?
• And has been upheld in the state of Florida.
• I don't think that they will just get a flag.
• She does not know what state it was filed in.

Bills: S0460, S0748, S1180, S1334

Keywords: special elections, vacancy, Governor authority, election timeframe, judicial determination, voting rights, felony, sentencing, civil rights, criminal justice, rehabilitation, elections, voter registration, citizenship, provisional ballots, election fraud

Summary: The Committee on Ethics and Elections met with a quorum and took up several election-related bills. CS/SB 1180 by Senator Arrington, which creates a recall framework for elected community development district board members and also addresses synthetic turf regulation and CDD eligibility, was presented briefly and then approved unanimously. SB 460 by Senator Polsky, requiring the governor to call special elections within set deadlines after vacancies and allowing judicial relief if deadlines are not met, also passed unanimously after members discussed flexibility for emergencies and the cost of delayed elections. The committee then heard SB 748 by Senator Bracy Davis, which would add constitutional voting-rights restoration language to the sentencing score sheet given to felony defendants. Supporters said it would improve clarity and notice without changing eligibility, and the bill was favorably reported unanimously. The committee also confirmed several appointees, including Jim Milliken and Alicia McShea to the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County, Robert P. Estalas as Director of the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, and additional gubernatorial appointees listed on the agenda, all by favorable votes. The longest discussion centered on Senator Grall’s strike-all amendment for SB 1334, an elections bill dealing with citizenship verification, Real ID and SAVE database use, paper-ballot voting, candidate qualification rules, and related election administration changes. Supporters argued it would streamline verification and ensure only citizens vote, while opponents warned it would create burdens, disenfranchise eligible voters, and impose costs and administrative confusion. After extensive public testimony both for and against, the committee adopted an amendment to allow supervisors of elections to observe holidays when not otherwise required to be open, then approved the strike-all as amended by a 6-2 vote, with Senators Polsky and Bernard voting no. The meeting then adjourned after members recorded their votes on earlier items.

Transcript Highlights:

• And as noted in the governor's State of the State, we are looking for the UNM School of Medicine student
• I do want to flag that.
• So when you're talking about overall rates of completion in the state compared to other states, do we
• It was announced during the State of the State.
• It was announced during the state of the state.

Bills: SB37, SB29

Keywords: high-quality literacy instruction, science of reading, structured literacy, reading instruction, literacy assessment, dyslexia screening, phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, biliteracy, English language learner, ELL, bilingual education, dual language program, reading intervention, reading difficulty, reading improvement plan, literacy coach

Transcript Highlights:

• what I'd like to tell you today is, again, as all of you know, the governor is the only person in the state
• We passed universal background checks and red flag laws that we know are saving lives.
• We passed universal background checks and red flag laws that we know are saving lives.
• We passed universal background checks and red flag laws that we know are saving lives.
• We passed universal background checks and red flag laws that we know are saving lives.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• and Texas flags.
• Members and guests in the gallery, please join as we honor our nation's flag.
• I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands
• And now to the greatest state in our land, honor the Texas flag.
• I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible.

Summary: The House convened amid a quorum failure and a forceful statement from the Speaker criticizing absent members for leaving the state and delaying action on urgent issues such as disaster recovery, flood-related deaths, and human trafficking. The Speaker said the House would use all available rules to compel attendance, including a call of the House and civil arrest warrants if necessary. The chamber then opened with prayer and the pledges to the U.S. and Texas flags. Representative Garin moved to place a call on the House until consideration of HB 4 on third reading was completed. The motion was adopted by record vote, 86 ayes and 6 nays, and the doors were locked. Garin then moved that the Sergeant at Arms or appointed officers send for all absent members not excused, with warrants of arrest if necessary, continuing beyond adjournment until further order of the House. That motion also prevailed by record vote, 85 ayes and 6 nays. While under the call, members needed written permission to leave the chamber. The Speaker granted permission for members registered present to leave and return the next day. The House then adjourned without objection until 1 p.m. Tuesday.