Transcript Highlights:

• What section of parkway in Montgomery County will be adorned with his name, and how is it selected?
• House Bill 140 amends Chapter 40 of the Texas Human Resources Code by adding Section 43.031 to establish
• 11.17 of the Texas Tax Code.
• House Bill 851 to Local Government. House Bill 1268 to Economic Development.
• House Bill 5652 to Local Government. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Summary: The Senate opened with an invocation, received a House message announcing passage of HB 74 creating the Puerto Verde Port Authority District, and heard a recognition from Senator Hancock about a weekend human trafficking operation in Fort Worth in which Unbound Now and the Fort Worth Police Department freed 19 victims. The Governor also submitted nominations to the Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board. The chamber then repeatedly suspended rules to take up and pass a series of House bills and one House joint resolution, mostly by wide margins, along with several local and honorary designations. Among the substantive measures, the Senate passed HB 1244 on open-space appraisal after property transfers, HJR 99 and HB 1399 to exempt animal feed from ad valorem taxation, HB 166 expanding child/endangered-person protections to fentanyl-related conduct, HB 1672 speeding DMV enforcement against unsafe motor carriers, HB 2018 clarifying the Texas Farm and Ranch Lands Conservation Program, HB 140 creating a DFPS advisory committee on child protective investigations, HB 467 providing for dissolution of the Cedar Creek Hospital District, HB 2000 requiring sex-offender registration for child grooming, HB 331 creating presumptions for first responders who suffer heart attacks or strokes after strenuous shifts, HB 1089 creating the Gulf Coast Protection Account, HB 2730 limiting when appraisal districts may require new homestead exemption applications, HB 2723 easing cemetery tax-exemption procedures, HB 353 creating a trespass offense near schools and day care centers, and HB 3248 authorizing defense-based development authorities to employ and commission peace officers. Several of these bills drew brief explanations and, in some cases, questions from other senators about their scope and purpose. The Senate also passed numerous memorial highway and facility designations, including HB 767 for Paul P. Mendez, HB 1708 for Trooper Kevin Ramirez-Vasquez, HB 2415 for Senior Police Officer Louis Andy Taylor, HB 2143 for Army Specialist Joey Lenz, HB 2457 for the Molly Mullins Mile, HB 2523 for Deputy Constable Ruben Garcia, HB 2198 for Officer Jacob Candinoza, and HB 2763 naming a TxDOT facility for Eduardo Eddie Garcia Jr. Other local or administrative measures included HB 3513 on the Moore County Juvenile Board and HB 3135 creating specialty plates for retired firefighters. The chamber also adopted several concurrent resolutions and later moved through a large local calendar, including HCR 80, which designated Brenham as the ice cream capital of Texas. Most measures passed with little or no opposition, though a few votes on rule suspensions and final passage recorded small numbers of nays.

Transcript Highlights:

• With sections 5 and 6.
• Section 7, sorry. Section 7 is the Education and Outreach on Behavioral Health Services, I believe.
• So you said section five and six were kind of a guess, but section five is a guess.
• Section six you have some historical data, yes? Okay, and okay, section seven, that's for vehicles.
• code.

Transcript Highlights:

• another branch of government. another branch of government. >> Absolutely.
• ...governing the Uniform Probate Code.
• And so I would just government.
• Um, section 29E-34E7 needs to be amended to address a cross reference to section 291E-38J.
• Um,<01:54:49.920> section<01:54:50.719> 29E-34E7 Um, section 29E-34E7 Um, section 29E-34E7

Keywords: 910, house, all

Summary: The House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs heard House Bill 2095, which would provide supplemental appropriations for the Judiciary for the 2025-2027 biennium. Judiciary Administrative Director Brandon Kimura testified in strong support and outlined a request for about $6.4 million in supplemental operating funds, plus four permanent full-time position conversions. He grouped the request into security, services to court users, and staffing needs, including $3.25 million for supplemental armed private security at judiciary facilities statewide, nearly $200,000 for cybersecurity staffing and support, restoration of funding for substance use treatment purchase-of-service contracts, restoration of funding for the Office of Public Guardian on Kauaʻi, salary commission funding, a Kona court operations position, and two Court-Appointed Special Advocates positions converted from temporary to permanent. He also described five capital improvement requests totaling $55.4 million, led by $30 million for construction of a new South Kohala courthouse, $1.2 million each for air conditioning upgrades in Hilo and Kauaʻi, $15 million for elevator upgrades at Kahumanu Hale, and $8 million in lump-sum bond funds for emerging projects. Several organizations testified in support, including Parents and Children Together and the True Cost Coalition. Supporters emphasized the importance of the purchase-of-service funding for domestic violence and substance use treatment services and said the restoration would return funding to pre-COVID levels and help providers maintain capacity. Kimura explained that the Judiciary often shifts funds among contracts during the year to avoid service interruptions, but that the reduced funding has caused delays and operational problems for providers and probationers. Members asked detailed questions about the capital projects and operating requests. Representative Shimizu asked for more information on the lump-sum bond funds and the elevator project, and Kimura explained that the Kahumanu Hale request covers four remaining elevator shafts after earlier funding addressed the first five elevators. Representative Cochran asked about the absence of Maui County projects, and Kimura said the Judiciary is still planning for its older Maui facilities with DAGS. Chair Tarnas questioned the need for armed private guards and discussed whether court security should be prioritized within the Department of Law Enforcement; Kimura said the Judiciary needs additional personnel now and has not asked DLE to deprioritize other missions, though the chair suggested further coordination between the agencies. No vote or final action on the bill was taken in the portion of the hearing provided.

Transcript Highlights:

• Essentially for violations of the labor code brought by individuals. Okay. Okay.
• code related to the administration's ability to set statewide telework policies.
• Administration section instead of the Department of Transportation.
• My understanding is that government code section 3519 indicates that unions should have been conferred
• . government.

Keywords: 988, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Another area: administrative code. Our new administrative code updates will go live April 1.
• For the governance and financing study, it examines the longer-term governance and financing models for
• Now we'll transition to the governance and finance study that evaluates long-term governance and financing
• Governance across all three projects.
• Any other questions on the governance? Any other questions on the governance portion?

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• For state and government-owned nuclear facilities, fine, that makes sense.
• The government, The government has the ultimate disposal responsibility.
• And the federal government has this thing called the judgment fund.
• Effective governance is at the top.
• government.

Summary: The Advanced Nuclear Energy Committee met to hear a series of presentations on the economics, financing, workforce, and community impacts of advanced nuclear deployment in North Dakota. William Bridge of Nucleon Energy presented the committee’s economic impacts and private-sector financing report, estimating construction and operating job impacts, local spending, and state/local tax effects for hypothetical SMR projects. He said the report assumes first-of-a-kind costs are still high, used a $6 million per megawatt nth-of-a-kind proxy, and estimated peak construction workforces of about 500 for a 200-MW plant and 1,000 for a larger facility, with roughly 100 operating jobs for a 200-MW plant. Committee members questioned security costs, capital cost assumptions, water and transmission siting constraints, and whether the model included fuel and waste; Bridge said the report included initial fuel in capital cost and that waste disposal is funded through existing federal mechanisms. Lori Brady of the Nuclear Energy Institute then outlined national nuclear workforce needs and NEI’s strategic workforce planning efforts. She described declining labor-force participation, retirements, and the need for a much larger future workforce, and said NEI has organized recommendations around career awareness, pipelines, training and qualification, policy support, retention, and nontraditional recruitment. She highlighted tools such as the Nuclear Works career website, the Nuclear Energy Academic Roadmap, the new federal Energy and Natural Resources career cluster, and the Nuclear Uniform Curriculum Program for community colleges. Members asked about AI, timing for training relative to plant development, and whether advanced manufacturing would reduce staffing needs; Brady said AI is not expected to replace workers and that training timelines depend on the specific project and staffing plan. The committee also heard from Gary Yaco, mayor of Red Wing, Minnesota, who described Prairie Island’s role in his community. He said the plant provides a large share of local property tax revenue, supports well-paid jobs, contributes to emergency preparedness funding and training, and is broadly supported by the city despite periodic protests and public concerns. He emphasized the plant’s security, regular drills with local and federal responders, and the absence of problems with dry cask storage. Later, Benton Arnett of NEI discussed the current financing landscape for advanced nuclear, explaining how tax credits, federal loan support, off-take agreements, and new business models are helping projects move forward. He said early projects face high upfront costs and long lead-time procurement, but that investor confidence is improving as federal policy and regulatory streamlining continue. The committee asked about waste funding, comparisons with natural gas, the effect of political shifts on investor confidence, and whether the market will narrow to a few winning technologies; Arnett said the industry is still sorting that out, but expects clearer winners in the late 2020s and early 2030s. The meeting concluded with an introductory presentation from Julie Kazeraki of DOE’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing, who said the office is focused on accelerating nuclear deployment through financing support.

Transcript Highlights:

• Section 779, the Health Care Accountability Act, addresses problems with our existing level of consolidation
• This bill gives corporate practice of medicine its own section and updates and clarifies protections
• This bill establishes a two-code rate methodology that supplements the current reimbursement.
• Using the average three-day treatment period, the proposed episode rate under this two-code method...
• You may be wondering why not just increase the daily rate and avoid the hassle of a two-code system,

Bills: HF2779, HF1645, HF1885, HF1289, HF1534, HF2707, HF1675, HF3046

Keywords: health care transparency, ownership disclosure, control reporting, health care consolidation, private equity, management services organization, MSO, provider organization, health insurer, pharmacy benefit manager, hospital system, affiliate reporting, financial disclosure, public reporting, market concentration, horizontal consolidation, vertical consolidation, health care ownership, corporate practice, health care regulation

Transcript Highlights:

• General government will come to order.
• There's a second late filed Amendment bar code number 3, 9, 6, 0, 4, 6, without objection.
• Now, while we're not opposed to the entire bill, this section does cause concerns.
• I don't want the government dictating are mandating that.
• >> I'd have to look back at the study to see that exact section.

Keywords: 999, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• chair uh so look looking at this section chair uh so look looking at this section I'm<01:09:04.199
• <01:13:29.400> 32A the section of the law under Section 32A the section of the law under Section
• building codes and increasing fire codes as needed when renovations are done.
• that have kept up with building codes and increasing fire codes as needed.
• that have kept up with building codes and increasing fire codes as needed.

Keywords: 1189, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• information to be conveyed by a QR code. information to be conveyed by a QR code.
• and we can go by on a section-by-section and we can go by on a section-by-section explanation<00
• Thank you, Senator Tarr. >> We can again go through the section by section, or maybe Mr.
• I'll just go quickly section by section.
• This would remove section 8.

Keywords: 1187, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• Sections 8 through 13 is what is repealed. That was the sunset of the bill.
• Sections 8 through 13 is what is repealed; that was the sunset of the bill.
• So in essence, we're keeping sections one through seven.
• And then I think there was section 14 about paying for vaccines.
• And so, there are aspects of the criminal code that operate in that way.

Keywords: 996, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We do a lot of international engagement, IAEA, and we do codes and standards adoption.
• And I will admit, I am not fully knowledgeable on every section of it.
• One of them has a government cloud.
• But it supports the government and industry efforts to build that secure, itself.
• So we work on buildings and very sophisticated codes. We call it all together force.

Keywords: 908, all

Transcript Highlights:

• the code of conduct. the code of conduct.
• It's titled the Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct for New Hampshire educators.
• It's titled the Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct for New Hampshire educators.
• I, so this is an educator code of conduct, not a parental code of conduct.
• Um we we are not the code of conduct. Um we we are not the code of conduct.

Keywords: 1191, senate, all

Transcript Highlights:

• uh, Senator Middleton, and this modification would exempt the lobby compensation thresholds and government
• code 305.005 from inflation adjustment and revert them to the thresholds in statute.
• This recommendation amends Section 254.042 of the Texas Election Code to limit the late filing penalty
• recommendations that guide our decisions to improve the efficiency and accountability of Texas government
• Our purpose here isn't to serve ourselves or make choices that simply accommodate government processes

Transcript Highlights:

• But continuing to look at that, I think, is the agency's responsibility as a steward of government power
• And I agree with you that we're talking about lawful or unlawful, but you're also looking at a section
• This is Rule 60G-1.001, Florida Administrative Code, and Ken, can you please go ahead and present the
• And that acquisition process is also governed by a set of rules and statutes that pertain to the Board
• There are two specific rules, one in section F, one in section G, that refer to various rules associated

Summary: The Joint Administrative Procedures Committee reviewed several agency rules and objections under Chapter 120. First, the committee revisited prior objections to Agency for Health Care Administration rules containing sunset provisions. AHCA’s general counsel said the agency amended 26 of the objected rules but declined to amend five others, arguing sunset provisions are lawful, are not themselves rules, and were consistent with a 2019 gubernatorial directive. Committee members questioned that position, especially for licensing and certificate-of-need rules, and urged the agency to consider legislative changes; no formal action was taken on that item during the discussion. The committee then considered an objection to Department of Management Services Rule 60G-1.001 defining the Governor’s Mansion grounds. Committee staff argued the rule is vague and improperly refers to future land acquisitions without updating the rule since 1998. DMS defended the rule as a general definition tied to publicly recorded property and a master lease, but said it would not object if the Legislature chose to codify the definition in statute. After discussion, the committee voted to file the objection. Members also received informational updates from the Department of Environmental Protection on the Solaris state lands inventory system, and from the Florida Gaming Control Commission on its response to the Tampa Bay Downs unadopted-rule litigation, in which the commission said it has stopped relying on the prior tax interpretation and will not promulgate a rule on that issue. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation said it would remove an unsupported cigar wholesale dealer permit reference, repeal an obsolete excise-tax deduction rule, and amend penalty guidelines and an affirmation in its alcohol, beverage, and tobacco rules. Finally, the Division of Administrative Hearings’ interim director discussed case-processing times, possible changes to ALJ status, and whether the Florida Rules of Evidence should apply in administrative proceedings, emphasizing the need to weigh costs, independence, and impacts on pro se litigants. The chair noted this was likely the committee’s final meeting of the year.

Transcript Highlights:

• House Bill 2072, an act amending Section 36-4-1-4-0-0-0-2-7-7-7-3, Article 7.3, amending Sections 41-
• They're here today learning how government works for them and for their community.
• They're here today learning how government works for them and for their community.
• Under section 13-45-2101, repealing section 13-45-2101, Arizona Revised Statutes, as added by this act
• House Bill 272: an act repealing section 13-8, Arizona Revised Statutes, relating to holidays.

Keywords: 1182, all

Transcript Highlights:

• We're going to start, though, and ask our public defender, defender, Agency Code 280, to come up.
• Early in my career, I retired from State Government 13 years ago, primarily with the Judiciary.
• We created a new budget program code back in 2020, I think it was.
• And Section 8 includes everything else.
• Sorry, this is agency code 760.

Transcript Highlights:

• Are you going to have two different codes in the same school?
• That code of student conduct is in there.
• You're going to have two different schools within one school with different codes.
• This is regarding line section 30.
• This is regarding line section 30.

Summary: The House took up a series of Senate messages and concurred in several amendments before passing multiple bills. Early actions included unanimous passage of CS/CS/HB 1299 on Department of Health matters, CS/HB 1549 on financial institutions after removing a Senate-added trust-account provision, and CS/CS/SB 768 on foreign ties in business ownership after trimming registration requirements. The chamber also insisted on its housing amendment to CS/CS/CS/SB 184 after the Senate refused to concur. A major portion of the meeting focused on CS/CS/HB 875 on educator preparation. The House adopted an amendment restoring two teacher-prep courses, preserving the Florida Center for Teaching Excellence at Miami-Dade College in partnership with USF, and modifying the teacher candidate testing framework and mentor qualifications. Supporters said it reduced barriers while keeping standards; opponents raised concerns about the remaining “identity politics” language and other provisions. The bill then passed 91-22. The House also passed HB 1101 on out-of-network providers after adopting a House amendment that kept the original bill’s notice and referral provisions with a good-cause exemption, despite objections that it placed too much responsibility on doctors. Later, the chamber approved CS/CS/SB 180 on emergency preparedness and response, with members highlighting debris management, emergency planning, crane safety, and hurricane recovery provisions; it passed unanimously. The House then rejected concurrence in a Senate amendment to HB 1609 on waste incineration, and later spent substantial time debating CS/CS/HB 1115 on education, especially Schools of Hope, expanded co-location authority, funding, transportation, and school-district agreement terms. Critics argued the language was added late and could disadvantage traditional public schools, while supporters said it would expand options for students; the debate continued with the bill still under consideration at the end of the excerpt.

Transcript Highlights:

• uh one section in in in the bill section uh one section in in in the bill um<00:42:12.319> because
• For these reasons, we ask you to delete section 18 and section 22. Mahalo.
• We ask you to delete section 18 and section 22. Mahalo. Thank you.
• But again, we'll be picking out those two sections, the solar section and the film section, and having
• and the film section and having section and the film section and having further<01:42:58.199> discussions

Keywords: 910, house, all

Transcript Highlights:

• <00:36:28.319> of<00:36:28.599> law<00:36:29.599> uh section of law uh section of
• <00:45:30.200> B paragraph section B paragraph section B Baker Baker Baker um<00:45:35.280
• section section 4<00:57:50.000> that<00:57:50.200> allows<00:57:50.480> the<00:
• encourage your adoption of section encourage your adoption of section five<01:13:57.320> the<
• of those sections.

Keywords: 928, house, all

Summary: The committee first heard testimony on House Bill 167, which would add ski, snowboard, and boat wax containing PFAS to the state’s consumer-product restrictions. The sponsor argued the product is already banned in many places, has PFAS-free alternatives, and is used in ways that can directly contaminate water rather than landfills. She cited high PFAS levels in several New Hampshire lakes and said the bill was a simple extension of prior PFAS legislation. A witness also described a personal experience where a liquid ski wax disappeared from the market and later returned, likely because of PFAS concerns. The chair then closed the hearing on HB 167 without a vote. The committee then opened a hearing on House Bill 312, dealing with college athletes’ name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights. Representative Moffett said the bill was modeled on New Jersey law and intended to let student-athletes earn compensation from NIL without losing institutional scholarships, while also requiring licensed representation and setting limits on certain endorsements. He described the measure as proactive because NIL rules are evolving and could create conflicts among schools and future lawsuits. Members questioned whether the bill should apply to two-year institutions, whether it should exclude firearms and weapons, and whether the scholarship protections would cover need-based or academic aid as well as athletic scholarships. Moffett said the scholarship language was intended to protect scholarships generally, but not need-based aid specifically, and he acknowledged discomfort with some of the endorsement restrictions. Public testimony on HB 312 was mixed. One supporter, a former Division III athlete and coach, backed the bill but urged removal of a section allowing institutions or athletic bodies to use an athlete’s NIL without compensation, arguing most New Hampshire athletes do not receive NIL money and should not have to work extra jobs to cover basic expenses. The chair also raised concerns about the bill’s contractual and identity-rights implications, referencing prior committee work on a J.D. Salinger-related identity case and noting the committee had previously declined to get involved in similar contractual disputes. No vote was taken during the hearing.